


An Act of Kindness

by r_mikaelis



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon), 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series
Genre: Alucard being edgy, Angst, Cuddles, Cute, Cute Animals, Cute Zombie Animals, Eventual Happiness, Fluff, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Little bit of torture but I promise everyone turns out okay in the end, M/M, Rescue, Slow Burn, post season two, vampire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2019-10-19 16:18:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 16
Words: 34,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17604731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/r_mikaelis/pseuds/r_mikaelis
Summary: The devil forgemaster has found himself trapped in the clutches of evil, forced to add to the hordes of Carmilla, the vampire now continuing Dracula's war in his stead.Dracula's killer, meanwhile, lurks daily in the newly vacant castle, the empty rooms haunting his soul. Alucard lives a life without meaning or direction, and Hector lives one dictated by a will not his own.All it took was one night creature imbued not with Carmilla's will, but with Hector's own, to save them both. Soon, they will create a world filled not with loneliness and suffering, but compassion, joy, and the embrace of another.





	1. Glass and Ice

"It just isn't up to my standards."

"I'm sorry. But I've gone through hundreds today. I've reached my limit..."

"Your limit?" There was a loud click of a heeled boot, a cowering clinking of chains. The formidable woman stood imposingly over a ragged male. His eyes were squinted shut, obviously awaiting pain. He didn't have to wait very long at all. Carmilla reared back and punched him in the mouth quicker than the blink of an eye. He stumbled backward with a grunt and touched his hand to his lip. Blood. And the old scab had just started to heal...

His face was grabbed in a death grey hand, crimson nails digging into his cheeks and threatening to stab through. The woman lifted him up until he was straining on tiptoe just to breathe. She glared up at him.

"Your limit exists at the point when I've decided my hordes are large enough. Do you understand that, puppy?"

"Yes," the silver haired man gasped, lifting his hand to gently paw at the one grasping his face. The seductress hissed, offended, withdrawing from his face to deliver a merciless backhand. Hector had gotten better at not collapsing with each blow he was dealt, but Carmilla had gotten stronger. He slammed into the wall and slid down it. It was all too simple to turn the breathless Hector over onto his stomach and pin him.

The vampire stared menacingly down at her pet. "You may never, ever touch me. Haven't I made this clear to you?" She pulled Hector's dominant hand behind him, digging her pointed claws into his forearm, dragging them and opening the skin, making him cry out in agony.

"Yes!"

"Are you going to get back to work now?" She twisted the skin, digging her nails deeper and making blood spurt out.

"Yes!!"

"Good. And this new one will be even better than the last, won't it?"

"It will...!" Hector sobbed weakly. The emotion disgusted his captor, who released his arm. The man rolled over onto his side to hold his injured arm close, protecting it and trying to stop the tears from flowing.

Carmilla huffed. "Get up," she ordered, taking him by his collar and forcing him, choking, to his feet. She threw him against the slab that was his workspace and jabbed him with the head of his hammer before throwing it down next to him. He stood there, shivering, head bowed, as his next project was brought into his cell and laid upon the table.

"Well? Get to work," the woman spat before closing the door behind herself. Warily, Hector looked over his shoulder and sighed in relief to see she really was gone. With shaking hands, sore from overuse, he untied the sash from around his waist. It was stiff and brittle with old, dried bloodstains, but it was the closest thing to a bandage he possessed, other than his torn shirt sleeve that was already wrapped around his skinned knee. He wound the fabric around his arm for healing, and around the palm of his hand for protection. Even despite the sash, the cold bit into his sun starved skin, tinting his work wearied fingers an even deeper, more painful red. But he lifted his hammer and he continued the work. The ringing sound engulfed the cramped stone room entirely. It was a haunting noise on its own, but atop that, it had a penchant for stirring up ghosts of the past. This used to be a proud noise. A sound associated with love and gratification stemming from a job well done and well enjoyed. Now it was hollow. An empty ringing. It sounded again.

Lights flickered, limbs twitched. Reluctant... But reluctance never mattered here. No, the sooner you got up, got to work, the easier everything would be. Because if you got up of your own will, no one would have to come and force you.The night creature would not get up and get to work, so Hector grit his teeth, steeled his resolve, and forced it. He swung his hammer down against the slab, a much poorer quality than what Dracula had given him, but effective enough to send a shattering ring and beautiful magic into the air to fill the grim cell. A flash of blue, a quiet gasp, and a life was restored.

Hector took a step back, wary. Carmilla's creatures were still filled with the bitterness and agony of their deaths, more so than Dracula's ever were. And, just like Carmilla herself, they seemed to see Hector as something to play with, to torment, to use to help relieve the stresses of defeat. He held up his raw, calloused hands to show his harmlessness- as if the collar, rags, and scars didn't prove that enough.

The creature leveled its gleaming blue eyes at its creator as it prowled down from atop the slab. Its massive paw trod upon Hector's chain, which secured him to the wall. He swallowed. Now it would be harder to escape it. The gash on his shoulder throbbed as if to remind him of the last time he let himself be cornered by one of his beasts. The scratch itself hadn't been so bad, but the punishment for it, having the wounded flesh seared and split even further apart, morphed into a permanent reminder of his silly mistake... Hector knew better than to let such careless mistakes happen again.

He held his ground, knees bent slightly and palms still aloft. The creature huffed and walked closer. Hector didn't have much chain left. He cursed himself for not initially retreating to the same side of the room to which his chain was fastened, but these were things he had never had to worry about before. One more step upon his leash and Hector was forced to bow. His eyes were wide and a little frightened. His forging was usually too immaculate for such a grievous mistake to happen. But to die to one of his creatures... At this point, after everything Carmilla put him through, it would be merciful. He didn't want to take another beating.

Hector slowly closed his eyes and relaxed, accepting his fate. He felt something brush against his head and then settle there. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes once more. The night creature had rested its head against Hector's own, giving a low, slow, hum. The forgemaster couldn't exactly say he was surprised that one of his reanimated beasts would be kinder to him than any other creature he had met in this hellhole. But it did touch him deeply. Hector moved his hands to brush through its fur. The creature shifted so that it wasn't pinning the man by his chains anymore, allowing him to stand back to his full height, just a bit taller than the massive, winged, doglike beast. He looked down with a soft, broken smile- An expression he hadn't worn in too long.

There was a sound outside the door. Hector instantly bristled and the night creature did the same, following the lead of its creator. The footsteps passed, but they had frightened the forgemaster enough that he turned to the beast with urgency instead of tenderness. He ran a hand through the fur on its face.

_Listen to me_ , he thought. _Please. Find someone who can get me out of this place. Find someone who can save me, someone able to save me._ Hopelessness welled within him for a moment as the thought occurred to him that this might be an impossible task. To find a human being who would want to help him was hard enough, but to find one powerful enough to actually accomplish that directive may simply be nothing more than a tortured man's daydream. After all, it took three people to defeat Dracula, or so Hector had heard, and Carmilla was bolstering her forces far more than he ever had. It was entirely possible that she was truly unconquerable by now. Even unable to be defeated by Dracula's killers... Dracula's son and his friends. He sighed, swallowed the lump in his throat, and finished communicating his intent, even though by now he was certain it was idiotic. _Find help. Please._

The creature huffed somberly. Hector was certain it understood. There was another noise outside the door, and this time it did not pass. The locks upon the door began to click. Terror filled Hector's soul. He bowed his head as he heard the door open, having learned by now that only equals are allowed to look each other in the eye, and a pet was no equal to his owner.

"This one was the last for today," a flowing, authoritative voice stated. “Now you are allowed to have reached your limit.” Hector heard the reanimated creature huff and be marched from the room to join the rest of the hordes. The ex-general could only hope that its differing purpose wouldn't be spotted before it even had a chance to leave this place. If that creature was the last one, then surely they would be leaving soon, right? Hector could usually hear the piercing cries of the hordes through the wall as they left. That was the only way he could tell that his cell was on an outside wall- that and the cold, he supposed.

The forgemaster heard more footsteps enter the room and his heart sank. Carmilla alone was bad enough to him, but tonight she was going to share him again. 

"On the slab," she ordered, and Hector silently obeyed. As a fearful instinct, he cast his eyes up once he was upon the frigid stone. They met an enraged pair of icy blue hues and he was struck before he could even think to avert his mistaken gaze. His face and shoulder collided with the slab, skinning them in places. He fought back tears, instead simply trying to get himself into position so he could be bound. Hector had been breathing steadily until the cuffs closed around his wrists and his leash was tightened, secured to the table instead of just the wall. It always panicked him. He always thought that maybe this time he could handle it, until the choice to avoid his fate was stolen from him. The vampires could sense it. Though his eyes were closed, he knew that they were smiling. That they could practically taste his fear.

Carmilla's claws traced up his stomach before digging into his chest, piercing his shirt and flesh and warming both with his own blood. Hector cried out pitifully. It was all he could do. He was met with laughter and jeers, but another noise as well. The sound of the hordes screeching into the early night. It was a truly eerie call, but for Hector, it stirred hope deep within. He was certain the one with his own intent given to it was still out there, destined to save him from the torture he had foolishly chosen for himself, or at the very least, that the beast would die trying. All that was left was for him to endure.


	2. A Corner of the Night

The castle was agonizingly hollow. And yet, no one would know the pain this emptiness held unless they knew of one simple fact- this place wasn't always this way. No one knew the laughter and life this palace used to contain better than Alucard, the man who was now its sole living inhabitant.

Every room was once home to a host of once joyous memories, but now was tinted with the bittersweetness of time. Everything golden, now coated in dust. The rooms where his mother would have him help her with her craft... How they laughed as he learned, how they played once they were done. He didn't know then how much the play was teaching him. Back then, it was just play. Alucard couldn't bear to enter the room, to look through the vials and remedies that killed her. He could still cling to the joy of those times, but if he were to enter, he feared it would fade. Just like the hallways he used to tear recklessly down, the tomes in the libraries that used to mystify him... And his father's decimated workspaces. Those hurt more than anything. Alucard found himself placing a mental ban upon even going near those places.

There were few upsides, but they were enough to prevent the heir of Dracula from slipping even further into lonely despair. The fact that the castle was next to the Belmont hold provided Alucard with many potential new memories. There was once a point where Alucard found himself hiding down there, amongst the stories. But he couldn't stay down there. It was a matter of personal preference that caused him to choose a different room inside the castle as his own… That, and one other little reason.

Alucard was not alone with the ghosts in the castle, as he once thought he was. He discovered this upon one dreary day when he decided to discover the castle in full. There were just so many parts of his childhood world that looked so twisted now by his father's monumental despairing rage. This wing was bleak and cold, full of acrid death. Night creatures were left rotting in the middle of the hallway. He wanted to vomit and then turn back, but he was committed to his goal in a near masochistic manner.

He trod on, across bridges, down stairs, and was soon glad he did, for there was a sound much deeper within the castle. An eerie whining and snuffling. Alucard tensed and put his hand upon the hilt of his sword. With careful footsteps, he approached the room from which the sound was emanating. He waited outside the door, listening, before peering inside. His guard immediately lowered as he saw nothing but a small dog sitting atop a wooden slab, shivering and whining pitifully.

The blonde pushed open the door, and the dog yipped and turned its head to face him, making Alucard gasp. Its face was torn apart... And as the pup rose slightly, it was apparent that the little beast was missing the flesh of its leg as well. There was no way this creature could be living... And yet it was.

Alucard saw its bright blue eye glimmering with hope before the look faded. The little pug whined and returned to its curled up state of mourning. It was waiting for somebody, the man noted. Somebody who had left it behind. Who had given it second life... Only to abandon it. It was pure cruelty. Even though the dog didn't want to see him, Alucard approached. He gently reached out his gloved hand to stroke it, and he wasn't denied. A pet, then. That made it even worse.

Out of mercy, the blonde tried to lift the little creature and take it with him, where he could give it food, a bath, warmth, and love. But as he tried to walk out the door, the pup began to whine and struggle, eventually squirming himself free of Alucard's arms and racing back to the slab. His yellow eyes softened. Such sadness and loyalty...

Alucard found himself drawn back to that room, day after day. It was the one place in the castle that didn't pain him. He brought the dog food and water, which he never seemed to take very much of at any point, but did seem appreciative of. Slowly, both man and dog began to explore more of the room than just the slab. While the pup pranced snuffling about the room, Alucard toured the shelves, the baubles, drinking in the unfamiliarity of the place. Even the smell was different from the rest of the castle- metallic and a little fiery, as opposed to musty. There were often nights when he slept there. The smell of the forge was better than the lingering odor of Belmont, anyway.

He was on his way there now. The one spot of comfort in the entire castle. A little smile was even upon his lips as he walked, bowl of water in hand and book tucked under his arm. But that smile was quickly erased when he heard a shuffling from the opposite direction. He hastily placed the book and bowl on the ground to ready his weapon. Heavy footfalls... Had enemies finally found this place? Three months had passed since he had been left here alone. He assumed that this day was bound to come. Alucard bared his pointed teeth and drew his sword just in time to see the beast turn the corner.

He snarled and charged it, expecting a battle. Instead, the creature retreated. A smart one, then. Alucard clicked his tongue, turned, and attempted another attack, which the creature fled from again. Three more vicious swings, three more misses, and not a single counterattack. Judging from its face, the night creature even looked frightened. It was then that Alucard decided to test something. He took a little risk, making an attack that would be easy for the monster to dodge and just as easy to counter. Even the dumbest beast would know better than to pass up a swipe like that.

And yet that was exactly what the creature did. All it did was dodge the sword. Alucard landed upon his feet, catlike, and did not lift the blade again. The creature quit its cowering and simply stood there, looking at him. The man cocked his head, his blonde curls falling against his pale face. Those blue eyes... They matched those of the dog that lived in the forge, not just in color, but in kindness.

"You aren't here to kill, are you...?" Alucard asked, his voice quiet and slightly hoarse from sheer lack of use. The beast huffed and sat back on its haunches, no longer perceiving a threat. It looked Dracula's son up and down before closing its shining eyes, pleased with itself. It even puffed its chest a little. Alucard tilted his head back the other way.

"What is it? Why do you look like that?" The night creature rose back to its powerful height, making the man ready his sword once again. Seeing this, the beast went for his free hand and bent until its head was under his palm. He nudged Alucard again.

"You... Want to be pet...?" The blonde huffed, unable to believe the situation unfolding before him. Seeing no harm in it, the man obliged, stroking through the thick, matted fur of the creature's skull. Once Alucard had relaxed entirely, the beast backed off and went down the hallway. The man regarded it with a look of confusion and began to follow it. The whole encounter was just so odd... And it wasn't like the dog actually needed the water. Alucard doubted it could die.

The beast was intent on leading him outside, into the cold. The blonde held his coat close and watched his breath form and dispel in the air. "What do you want, creature...?" He asked tersely, wondering whether he could even be understood. It seemed he could, because the beast sunk down onto the ground, expecting to be mounted. Alucard forced a laugh at the silliness of it all.

"You expect me to ride you?" He asked, shaking his head. "Abandoning these two crucial places for some unknown adventure? Why?" He asked, and as soon as the syllable rolled from his tongue, he knew the answer. Because he would not be able to survive the castle much longer. For as much comfort as that little puppy provided him, he alone could not fight back Alucard's demons, the shadows of the past that lurked around every other corner in that godforsaken building. Just one day away from this, no, even just one hour, and he'd be refreshed fully. This creature must've been meant to find him. Meant to save him. It was the sunrise in an empty sea, just like his mother was to his father so many years ago. He didn't know where the beast would take him... But he was certain it would be better than here. Let the castle be stolen, if that was how destiny wished it. Three months had done much to erode his care for the place. If Belmont and the Speaker still cared, if they still wanted him to care, they should have stayed themselves. Maybe then they'd be able to see that the request to live here instead of die was a foolish one. Maybe then they'd be able to see that the only thing this castle fostered was death.

"Fine," Alucard hissed, getting aboard the monster's broad back. "But if you make even one move against me... I stab you through the skull." The night creature huffed and rose to its feet before bursting into flight.

The wind buffeted Alucard so much, that he found himself grasping the beast's fur for dear life. But once he overcame the initial terror, the man started to grin wider than he ever had in years. From up here, his responsibility, the castle, was just so small. And the future, laid out before him on the horizon, so great. He didn't know where he was going, and he was certain that he wouldn't even know when he got there. But he was overjoyed to be heading there regardless.


	3. Clear My Head

Every breath was agony. Every muscle was aching. The man wobbled about on tiptoe, perpetually searching for one more breath. He thought with each new step, he'd fall, rendering himself unable to secure any more vital air. A part of him wished for this.

But a primal fear kept him dancing, gasping, straining while she simply watched him.

He wheezed. His chains clinked softly. It was just so quiet. It only heightened the pain.

Her eyes bored into him from across the room. Merciless. Expressionless.

Hector's own face was wretched with tears, blood, and sweat. His mouth was held open, lips trembling to taste just a little more oxygen. His neck was stretched out and his head was tilted up. His collar dug in between his throat and jaw, turning his flesh a miserable red. His hands, bound behind him, flexed and grabbed at nothing each and every time his toes lost their balance.

It was the worst torture he had received in his entire life. Worse than marching, worse than the beatings, worse than everything.

He wanted to die. He wanted to die!

But every time his balance failed him, before he could think, his aching legs propped him up again, saving him from hanging.

Thankfully, it couldn't go on much longer.

Hector's legs felt numb and boneless. The muscles were giving in. Soon he would die. After what must've been hours, he would die for his sins. Good. Good, he deserved to die. Not for the crime Carmilla charged him with, but for what he had done to Lord Dracula. He killed him. His betrayal ruined the man, and for that, he deserved this slow, miserable death.  
Unwillingly, his legs finally failed him, but he submitted to it.

Carmilla's expression shifted. She was interested now. While her captive asphyxiated, she strolled over to his side, reached up, and unhooked his leash from the fixture on the ceiling.  
Hector could stand on his feet again. He gasped, coughed, and spluttered over the breath filling his aching lungs. His body weight rested against Carmilla, who even smiled gently.

"There, there, pet... Have you learned your lesson now...?" She asked with her horrifically honeyed voice.

Still hacking up his lungs, the man nodded desperately.

"And what lesson is that...?" Carmilla asked with a pouting tone, talking down to her inferior.

"I... I don't... Shouldn't..." Hector panted. He couldn't get the words out. All he could do was cough and pant and cry.

"You don't what? You shouldn't what?" The vampire inquired, her words becoming more pointed.

All Hector could do was stare up at her.

Carmilla clicked her tongue. "Then you haven't learned a thing."

In a flash, the woman wrapped the chain over the hook instead of impaling it, using it as a pulley and yanking the man up so he was just barely off the floor.

He kicked and choked and struggled, his gagging sounds of anguish echoing within the cell.  
Carmilla let him back to his feet. "You are to give my creatures my orders!"

She tugged the chain and choked him again before letting him back down to his feet for a second time. "You are not to waste precious resources to serve your own whims!"

The vampire repeated the process once more, this time, leaving him hanging while she roared. "You are my pet now! You serve one purpose and one purpose only- To do exactly as I say!"

Carmilla dropped the chain entirely. Hector fell to the ground, a broken mess. Blood dripped from his neck from where the collar had rubbed him raw.  
It was lapped up quickly, but it wasn't savored.

\---

Hector awoke with a cry, clutching at his neck. A lump formed in his throat and tears began to well up in the corners of his eyes. How much time had passed since then...? Months...? He had been doing just as he was told... And he hadn't been hanged again, thankfully, but there were plenty of other ways to torture him, each one equally undeserved…!

Why? Why had he ever listened to Carmilla? Why did he ever trust her?

Why couldn't he have just been killed back then for breaking the rules?

He had been a fool. He thought he could end the war by calling the night creatures to be peaceful. How idiotic he was... By doing that, the only thing he ended was the streak of his own resistance.

Hector was broken now. His mind, his will, his heart... Everything but his body. The one thing she needed.

Part of him wished he had never sent that night creature to find help. What would his savior see but a broken husk of a man? Nothing worth saving at all...

With that thought alone, Hector cried himself back to sleep. As he drifted into his dreams, he heard the clinking of chains, felt the throbbing of his calves, and sensed his collar growing tighter and tighter...

\---

Alucard noticed three distinctly strange things about Carmilla's wintry fortress.

The first was particularly unexpected. It was how intently the beast that carried him here from home stared at that one windowless, doorless room. It was their very first stop.

"What?" Alucard asked of the creature. "There's no way in here." He checked and checked, but there didn't seem to be a single sign of any importance to this bit of cold stone wall. If there was a secret entrance, then it was beyond Alucard's abilities to find it.

"Find another way in," he had ordered, and the beast reluctantly obeyed, leading Alucard elsewhere, though his memory of the oddity remained.

Even once they found a suitable point of entry, Alucard was touched by another strange occurrence- that of how the creature had been able to find such an easy entry to such a fortified place, the castle of Carmilla herself. Of course, Alucard noted in a haughty state of mind, this little castle was nothing like Castlevania in grandeur. However, there was something to be said for its strategic location and high defenses. It would've been near impossible to get here, atop this jagged mountain, without the help of his winged friend.

Even without expending weeks of effort to scale the snow laden peak, he was already practically blue with the chill of Styria. He was certain he wouldn't have ever been able to pick a safer place to take his own castle than here, somewhere so naturally unfriendly.  
And as he regarded the most dreadful part of the unforgiving landscape, planning a method of attack, Alucard pieced together the third and final reason why it was so strange here. Why on earth, he wondered, would the base of such an imposing figure in the vampire world be attended to by only two visible guards? Surely Carmilla wasn't stupid enough to think that natural defenses would be enough. Alucard could think of only one reason- the troops were needed elsewhere.

But where? Could Carmilla possibly be losing so dreadfully that she needed her guards as soldiers? If things were going so poorly for Carmilla... Then why hadn't Belmont and the Speaker come back to the castle yet? Surely they could've spared some time for him, if they were winning, if they were helping humanity to win.

Alucard grit his teeth. These were the sorts of thoughts he was here to avoid. Thoughts of abandonment, of permanent solitude. He would end up just like his father, wouldn't he...? Alone and vicious.

Finally approaching the structure, Alucard took just a quick sidestep into the shadows. He appeared behind the guard, menacing behind him, out of sight. In an instant, the heir of Dracula had one hand over the vampire guard's mouth, the other clutching the side of his head. Snap! And the guard fell. Alucard knew it wasn't over, so he was quick to rip away the breastplate and stake through the heart before the guard could gasp back to life.

The blonde looked over his shoulder, a fire in his golden eyes. There had been a witness.

The vampire broke into a petrified run, but Alucard pounced upon her, tackling her to the ground. He covered her mouth like he had with the last one and pinned her, thrashing, until he could wedge his stake through a divide in the back plates of her armor.

Panting, the man rose to his feet. Good, good. She had been the only witness. It seemed that the night creature had good instincts about which door would be easiest to enter, but that was to be expected of something that had been inside the stronghold, at least for some length of time.

His bloodlust sated, the man prowled through the castle, exploring its many unfamiliar corridors. Why not? It seemed there was no one to stop him. The place was just as bleak, as dreary, as empty as his own castle. It was hard to say if he felt better here or worse. On the one hand, he was alone in the lair of the enemy, brought here by a strange monster, and currently leaving the Belmont hold and his castle fully unattended. But at least this stronghold, evil as it was, was not as haunted as home.

The hallway eventually became a dead end. Alucard was all but ready to turn around and head back entirely. Killing those two guards had been fun, and so had flying here. But it couldn't fight off his feelings of desertion, of betrayal. The best thing to do would just be to go home and try to forget his pain by playing with that dead dog forever.

Something stopped him, though. Something that struck his nose with a metallic tang and an ethereal hint of smoke. And something else. Part of him hated to say it, but he could smell something... Human. It stood out in this castle of death and vampiric massacre.

The door on the right at the end of the hallway. That was it. Tentatively, he pressed his ear against it, and on the other side, heard shivering. Yes, he was right, that was a distinctly human trait. Some human was here, in the castle. He knew that his father had humans in his own army, but frankly, Carmilla didn't seem that type. And even if she was, why would she keep a member of her own army locked away?

It took expert maneuvering, but Alucard was able to break apart the lock and carefully enter the room. It was a forge. He could note that right away by the layout, with the massive slab right in the center. But it was so unlike the one back in the castle. This room was very cramped. Instead of bookshelves and windows on the wall, there were only chains and stone. The room was devoid of color and light. Alucard would almost be justified to say that this room was entirely devoid of any life, forged or otherwise, were it not for the lone human, curled up on the table.

Still ever wary of a trap, the blonde softly stepped closer, and the person upon the table did not stir. Was he sleeping? The man leaned in and saw that, indeed, the captive's sliver lashes were tightly closed and flickering somewhat. He was totally passed out. Now that he was closer, Alucard could see the wounds that coated this poor man, red and puffy, so apparently infected. And, judging by the shoddy bandages on the human's arm and knee, these weren't even the worst of the injuries.

The stranger twitched in his sleep, making a loud clink as his chains adjusted. Alucard's bright yellow eyes followed the chain from a collar to a fixture upon the wall. That was all the proof he needed to become fully convinced that this person was not a member of any army, but a slave. Well, he was almost fully convinced. There was one more thing to do.  
Disregarding the threat of noise, Alucard planted his foot upon the chain, pulling it taut between his boot and the wall, and swung his sword down upon it. There was a massive clang as the chain split and fell to the ground.

Hector's blue eyes shot wide open. He couldn't tell what that noise was. He hadn't heard it before. Some new way to torture him, he was certain... So he didn't move. He just lay there, shaking now with fear and cold, waiting.

Alucard looked back at the newly freed captive, expecting some reaction, whether an attack or an attempt to flee. Instead, there was nothing. Annoyed, the blonde strode over to the slab, grabbed the man by the shoulder, and forcibly rolled him onto his back.

"Hey. Get up." He harshly stated, allowing the man knowledge that he was rescued and could now stand. He had thought he would be greeted with excited and hopeful obedience.  
But Hector balked, closing his eyes up tight and grimacing, just knowing that the guard was tricking him, that he was going to strike him down as soon as he rose.

Alucard withdrew his hand, regarding that pitiful expression with some amount of sorrow to have caused it. "There's no need to be frightened," he said in a tone that attempted reassurance, though it sounded just as pointed as the order to stand.

Even though he didn't trust the man's claims, Hector opened his eyes and looked at his potential savior directly and defiantly in the face. Someone who wanted to punish him would have reason for it now. But someone who wanted to save him...

That expression, so full of pain and confusion and fear, and yet hope, it stilled even Alucard's fire with pure lamentation. He couldn't tear his eyes away. It had been three months since he had last seen a human look at him with any expression, let alone one of... Dependency. Sure, he had the dog for that, and maybe now the night creature, too. But, however selfish it may have been, however wrong, he wanted this person atop all he already possessed. Even if just for a little while.

"We are leaving this place. Can you walk?" Alucard asked, his golden gaze boring into Hector's. The human couldn't answer. This had to be a dream, or some sort of elaborate setup to see if he would escape if presented the opportunity. Carmilla would rip him to shreds for failing this test...!

He was taking too long, and Alucard had spent enough time in the stronghold already. They were leaving now, together. Alucard was taking the stranger with him. A good deed done for the wrong reasons was still a good deed after all.

"Fine." Alucard huffed, scooping Hector up from behind his knee and from the middle of his back. The human made a broken cry of pain as he was lifted. There must've been wounds under his clothes as well, but it was too late to be worried about that now. With steps hastened by magic, Alucard retraced his way through the castle, back to the entrance he had used. To his surprise, the night creature was there, waiting to meet him, with one extra vampire guard pinned under its paws, his screams muffled in the thick snow.

"Heh. Good job," Alucard praised as he slung the man up onto the beast. The poor fellow was practically convulsing with shivers by now. He couldn't be blamed for it. His clothes were thin tatters, and his boots were worn on the sides, the sole, and the toe. Cold could sleep in from every direction. Alucard mounted behind the man and leaned forward, providing what little body warmth he possessed to help still his shaking.

It helped immensely. Hector opened up his eyes and saw an expanse of black fur. He clutched at it with his aching hands and heard a familiar low hum. The night creature! So... This wasn't just another dream. Another nightmare. It was reality. Hector sobbed into the beast's fur, wet from the snow, and grinned. As they took flight, hope soared within his heart as well, and he had his first fearless sleep in ages.


	4. The Answers Everybody Knows

_She was coming closer to him._

_He was so, so scared._

_Like the cornered animal he had become, he lashed out._

_His fist connected... And then... And then..._

Hector jolted awake, gasping and panting. He didn't know where he was, but it wasn't the castle. Even by wracking his brain, he couldn't quite remember exactly how he left. It was a haze.

He took in his surroundings. Directly behind him was his night creature, cuddled close, warming his chilled bones. Then before him there was a fire... A fire which he hadn't started. Hector swallowed and continued to look around. There was nothing there, nothing but woods and snow and a sheer stone wall before him.

Was he alone? No, no, he couldn't be. The night creature wouldn't have come back for him alone. It was supposed to come back with a savior. He vaguely remembered a stranger entering his cell, scaring him, yelling at him… He picked up Hector… It hurt, and he was cold, and then… No, beyond that, he couldn't recall.

There was a sudden crunch of snow behind Hector, who tensed. That must be them now. His rescuer.

A silhouette grew larger and larger against the stone wall until it towered over Hector and his creation. Hector gasped. There was only one man with that tall, cloaked figure, that exact imposing outline.

Lord Dracula.

So this was the man with the power to save him from Carmilla.

"Master Dracula… It's... It's you...!" Hector cried, bubbling over with hope. "I should've known you weren't dead... That he couldn't have killed you...! I never should've listened to..." His excited words trailed off abruptly. "I... I never should've listened to..." The man bowed his head in pure penitence.

"I'm sorry. Carmilla... She tricked me. Told me she had your best interests at heart. I... I should've known better. I was the one who put you in so much danger. You could've been killed... Because..." Hector sighed and clenched his fists. "If you want to kill me for my treason, I'd understand it. I don't deserve to serve you again."

The silhouette came a little closer.

"I don't intend to kill you," Alucard breathed. The unfamiliar voice made Hector turn around to regard it. "But you are very mistaken. My father- Dracula- is dead. I have killed him."

Those words sent a chill through Hector's soul. "Alucard..." He breathed.

The vampire forced a quiet laugh. "News did travel through the stone walls of your cell, then." Hector averted his gaze and fell silent.

Alucard came closer. "Do you have a name, human...?"

"It was..." The forgemaster paused. If Alucard asked for his name, then perhaps, under him, he'd be allowed to have one again. "It's Hector," he corrected, and saw Dracula's heir shift slightly. He walked even nearer, taking a seat not far from where the human lay.

"Hector..." Alucard breathed, making the bearer of that name shudder. It had been so long since he heard his name upon someone else's lips. "You're a forgemaster, yes? In the journals he left of his travels, my father spoke of you quite highly. He said he had never met someone who possessed nearly as much skill as you do."

The forgemaster looked up at his rescuer, his sky blue eyes brimming with emotion. But he looked away from him as the weight of his sins began to bear down upon his soul once more.

"Dracula's really dead..." He breathed.

"I know," Alucard responded.

It was a cold retort in Hector's eyes, especially for the man who had driven a stake through the vampire's heart.

"And you're the one who staked him," he added, hoping that an accusation like that would pull some emotion from the man.

"I know."

Hector huffed. "And he was a great man! I would know, I was one of his generals!"

"I know."

That comment made the forgemaster hesitate. "You know?"

"I know."

"So… If you knew who I was... Why did you save me...?" Hector asked, curious as to why someone who would kill the initiator of a genocide would hesitate to do the same to an agent of it… Especially when the former was his own father, and he, the latter, was just a stranger.

Alucard turned to look at him with his cold yellow eyes. "I didn't know who you were when I rescued you."

Shocked by that response, Hector withdrew from his line of questioning to think of what he wanted to say next.

"And now that you know...?"

The vampire stood. "It changes nothing." Hector felt relief flood his body, head to toe, warming him more than the fire ever could.

Alucard held up the reason he had left the camp he made for them. "I found rabbit.” He stated. “Enough for the two of us."

"Thank you." The silver haired man uttered, and was met with a nod from his rescuer. It was the last word spoken between them as they cooked and ate their meal. Hector consumed his food too ravenously to really talk, anyway.

"Are you going to rest more?" Alucard asked after they had both finished.

Hector blinked. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "I can't really say I'm tired. But I shouldn't deny myself, either."

The blonde nodded in agreement. "No, you shouldn't."

"Um... Good night, then," The human murmured, hoping he had read the tone right- that the question about sleep was, in reality, a veiled order to sleep. He winced as he lowered himself down to the ground. The pressure against his bruises was difficult to endure, but it was just as difficult to escape. His wounds were everywhere.

Alucard watched the man as he struggled to the cold dirt beneath him, and how he shivered once he lay upon the cold, wet patch of ground. He approached him silently. With one fluid motion, the blonde removed his heavy black coat and wrapped it over both the forgemaster and himself.

Hector gasped and looked into Alucard's face, now so close to his own.

"You're one cold night away from death, Hector," the vampire whispered in his flowing, sultry tones. "I don't want to have rescued a frozen corpse."

Alucard felt the human practically melt into him after that. So trusting... Even the dog hadn't placed so much confidence in him in such a quick period of time. He placed his hand upon the small of Hector's back and, upon hearing no grunt of pain, pulled him in even closer. The man's breath warmed Alucard's neck and chest beautifully, stirring his previously hollow heart. This human... He was exactly what Alucard had been needing. He was perfect, and Alucard swore to keep him close for as long as he possibly could. He needed this human, possibly more than this poor, helpless human needed him.

Holding what he desperately needed so close to his heart, Alucard slept peacefully, even happily. And surrounded by warmth from his two saviors, the night creature and the Wallachian, Hector had never felt so safe.


	5. Miles From Way Back When

A beautiful sound graced Hector's ears, stirring him from slumber. The birds were chirping in the forest nearby, returning from the summer destinations they fled to. The thaw was beginning in earnest, it could be felt as easily as it could be heard.

His cell had been silent. No sound penetrated except the roars and cries of those angry or agonized enough to create such noise. Sounds with actual allure and meaning were forbidden to him by the merciless stone.

The skittering about of the forest wildlife prompted Hector to finally stretch out, sigh, and open his eyes, which were instantly met with a view into pools of pure gold- Alucard's eyes, staring straight into his own.

"Good morning," the vampire stated, and Hector twitched away, fully startled to see someone's face so close to his. How long had they been that close? How long...?

"How long have you been awake...?" Hector asked, his voice still burdened by sleep.

"A while," Alucard answered. It wasn't untrue, but a more accurate answer would've been 'All night.' He didn't need the sleep, just a break from flying. But watching the human rest wasn't entirely mindless. He was very cute while he slept, his lips twitching and his eyelids fluttering every so often. At one point, he even made a little whimpering noise and reached out a hand to clutch at Alucard's shirt, which seemed to soothe whatever fear his dreams had stirred within him. It soothed Alucard as well, stilling his mind with the happy thought that someone wanted him again.

The blonde got to his feet, prompting Hector to sit up as well. "Stay here," Alucard instructed. "There is still some rabbit, if you want it. I'll be in the forest." With that, the vampire walked off and disappeared into the trees.

Now, how well would his memories of youth serve him...? The man looked over the underbrush, mentally distinguishing the height, color, size, and shape of every leafy plant until finally, he caught sight of a few that could be of service to his companion.

Meanwhile, the forgemaster was devouring the leftover rabbit. They hadn't fed him very well when he was a prisoner- just enough to keep him alive and relatively healthy, really- and this rabbit was no feast, but it sated his rumbling stomach even if just a bit. He was grateful for the little creature's life, as well as for the man who had caught it for him.

Adrian- Alucard- Tepes. It was a name that had haunted the war hall since Hector was introduced to it. Dracula's prodigal son, the child of a vampire and a human, who could not bring himself to forsake the blood of his mother's side, even to avenge her. He had been a thorn in Dracula's side from the very first day of the war, and was eventually a stake in his heart.

And that was his fault, wasn't it? He had provided the opening for Alucard to slip through... So Alucard could kill the one who had spared him, who had shown him kindness. But in all fairness... Alucard had shown him kindness as well. He spared him from Carmilla. For what purpose, Hector didn't know. It could be a trap. It could be an effort by Carmilla to weaken his resolve even further. Perhaps Alucard was acting alone, but even then, maybe he hated the human generals who had allowed Dracula to continue down the warpath and sought to take revenge upon the errant Hector. Dreadful possibilities plagued the man’s mind until he was stirred from them by the crunching of snow under boots.

"Here," Alucard said as he approached, holding out a handful of bright green, pointy, serrated leaves. Hector recognized them, vaguely, from his childhood studies, but couldn't tell exactly what they were. All the he was certain of was that it wasn't harmful. "Chew these up,” Alucard breathed, “but do not swallow them. I mean that."

The cold seriousness in Alucard's voice prompted immediate obedience from the silver haired man, who had just been dwelling upon the various treacherous events that could befall him at the hands of his rescuer. He wouldn't dare risk angering him now. The taste was bland, a little bitter, but far from intolerable.

"Hector," Alucard called. His name was still so sweet on someone else's lips, ever since it had been stripped of its familiarity. "Would you take your clothes off for me?"

Hector almost choked on whatever it was he was chewing. "What?!" He asked, muffled by the mouthful of leaves.

"Never mind. Just your shirt, then. Your bandage, too, or whatever the hell that thing is," Alucard added, gesturing at the red sash wrapped around the man's right arm. Hector seemed hesitant, until Alucard sighed and muttered, "Do you want my help or not, forgemaster...?" At that point, assuming that the vampire would cease to help him entirely if he did not comply, Hector began to fumble with the fastenings of his shirt and unwound the red cloth from around his wrist and hand. He held himself close once his top was gone, feeling the biting chill of the still wintry air.

Alucard's eyes narrowed as he regarded the human's shivering form. He had a pleasing figure, slender yet well muscled. But the beauty of him had been marred most maliciously. He was coated with injuries. Scars littered his arms, his chest, his back. Alucard knelt beside him and gently took hold of the arm that once bore the sash. Hector winced and began to shiver from terror as well once his wound was bared, scarlet and swollen with infection.

What was the vampire going to do? Dig something into the old wound? Reopen it? He was used to that, but he desperately didn't want this man to do that to him. He was supposed to be his savior, after all.

The blonde kept hold of Hector's arm, but cupped his free hand under the human’s mouth.  
"Spit," he ordered, and it was then that Hector became certain that this was a trap. He was never supposed to spit on someone else, not even if it was an accident, not even when his mouth was full of blood and someone hit him, making him cough it up... Hector backed away and shook his head no.

Alucard sighed deeply. "So you swallowed it, then, even when I told you not to."

The forgemaster shook his head again, this time, quite vehemently. The strange leaves were still very much in his mouth, the unfamiliar flavor seeping into his tongue.

"Don't lie to me," Alucard insisted, and before Hector could even mumble that he wasn't lying, the vampire was upon him. He had Hector's face in his hand and, with the element of surprise firmly upon his side, pulled his mouth open with ease, only to find that the chewed up leaves had truly never been ingested at all.

"Oh. You didn't swallow, then," he said simply and released the forgemaster's face.

Hector retreated further. "Why would I swallow them when you told me I shouldn't...?" He asked around the mouthful of herbs which threatened to spill from his lips with every word.  
Alucard's yellow eyes fixed upon his. "Why won't you spit, even though I'm telling you that you should? Even into your own hand," he added, wondering if manners were the true problem here. Sure enough, with that addition clearly stated, Hector spat the green paste from his mouth into his palm.

"Good. Here..." Alucard said in a gentle tone, taking the hand that held the paste and guiding it down to touch the gashes the other arm bore. Hector groaned as the two met, grimacing with pain.

The vampire shushed him quietly. "Those were nettles. They're well known for fighting infection. If it hurts, that means it's working." Releasing Hector's arms, Alucard reached for the wrapping around the man's knee, which looked like it had once been his shirt sleeve. He slid it down and saw an expanse of missing skin just beginning to scab over.

"Put some here, too," Alucard insisted. Even though it hurt, Hector obeyed. He didn't want more scars.

"And here!" The blonde gasped upon seeing the worst wound of all- a massive chunk of flesh missing from Hector's left side. It still oozed vaguely, worrying Alucard deeper than he ever expected to worry over this human.

Hector looked up with eyes that asked 'Must I?' Yet he complied, and as soon as the last vestiges of the green mush graced his injury, he emitted a strangled cry of pain. Alucard drew close to him, providing as much comfort to the tortured male as he possibly could. He wound the bandage back around Hector's knee and tied it securely. After this, the vampire regarded his own left sleeve and ripped it from from his shirt as well. He compared it to the diameter of Hector's waist. It fit around, but barely. Not well enough to be properly secured. Alucard simply resolved to hold extra tightly to the human to ensure it would stay pressed to the treated injury.

He then handed Hector his shirt, and the man laughed weakly as he put it on. "We match now," he remarked innocently, pointing at his missing sleeve, a note that made Alucard smile just slightly.

"Fix your arm and then we can leave," the blonde said in a tone less guarded than his usual one, but still just as harsh. He strode over to the night creature and tried to prompt it to rise. As Hector wrapped up his stinging arm, though, he watched his rescuer intently.

Somehow, he had prompted kindness from this man, opened him up with a way that neither one of them had been expecting. Deep down, there was still a part of Hector that suspected all of this to be a setup to some brand of further cruelty, but it was mainly stifled by the undue kindness he had been shown. It was overwhelmingly unfamiliar territory, for the most part. Hector didn't know what to expect, or what to do next. He supposed that the best option was to continue to trust the heir of Dracula, and if not him, the night creature, who would never have brought him anyone less than worthy.


	6. Something to Hold Onto

The travelers spent another night together. Alucard suspected it would be the last they spent out in the open, that home was on the horizon. But Hector, on the other hand, was beginning to worry that Alucard intended to keep them on the road forever, wandering about the earth infinitely, with no plan or intended destination whatsoever. Though he had done his fair share of that in life, Hector had always preferred having somewhere to call home.

Perhaps this wasn't so bad, though. Alucard cared enough for him to feed him, treat his wounds, and provide him with warmth and company throughout the night. He hadn't hurt him. If a lifetime of wandering was what this man required for saving Hector's life, well, it wasn't such a bad price to pay, so long as they could stay together.

As he did the last time they stopped for rest, Alucard left Hector and the night creature in the place they determined would be their camp while he went out to collect wood, food, and medicine. The human was awake and a little more able this time, though, so he staggered over to the opposite side of their camp in search of more firewood, more herbs, anything that could help. He didn't want to be a burden.

Alucard did not expect his companion to wander off, so when he returned to a camp that was one member short, he was caught frightfully unawares.

"Hector?" He called out anxiously, looking around himself in case the man was just huddled somewhere out of sight. He wasn't. In dismay, Alucard tangled a hand in his long blonde locks.

"For fuck’s sake, don't tell me he ran away…! Hector?" He called again, louder, and the bearer of that name stumbled forth from the forest. He bore a look of guilt upon his face, and a burden of wood in his arms.

"I'm sorry I left. I... I thought I could help," the forgemaster stammered, averting his sullen blue gaze.

The vampire sighed and walked over to Hector, who flinched away from his presence out of old habit. He put his arm carefully around the nervous human and led him back to the center of the camp.

"You're no help to me if you work yourself to death. What's best for you is staying in camp... Not wandering off into the forest to get lost, infected, and ill."

To that, Hector had no rebuttal, so he sat quietly and allowed Alucard to start the fire and cook their meal while he shivered quietly and watched. The blonde looked over at the man he had rescued and regarded his shivering state. Though he had originally intended to sit on the opposite side of the fire, as it had a better angle for cooking their meal, he moved over to Hector's side. He did not look entirely welcoming of the vampire's presence, but as Alucard moved, he took off his coat again and draped it over the pair of them, keeping his extended arm upon Hector's shoulder. The gesture was immensely comforting to the once frightened human and just as warm as he had been desiring. The forgemaster was even beginning to become sleepy. Sure enough, after he finished his meal with Alucard, he ended up dozing off, resting his head upon the vampire's shoulder.

Smiling softly, Alucard lowered the man to the ground and lay down facing him like he had before. Just like then, it took him the entire night to admire the human's form and mannerisms- How his hair curled and tumbled down his neck, how his brow would furrow in this look of concern before relaxing into sleep once again, how his collar glinted in the moonlight.

That was the one vestige of the cruelty that had been inflicted upon this poor man that Alucard could not treat. From observing it so closely, he was certain it was magic and that, from reading the books of either the castle or the hold, he would be able to learn how to remove it. But it was still sad to know there was no immediate remedy. Alucard hated the way that cold, uncaring ring of metal sat around Hector's neck so proudly and maliciously, marking his past plainly for the vampire to see. He was confident Hector hated it as well. How couldn't he?

Alucard had watched it grate against the man's neck as he moved in his sleep. Many times throughout the night, he saw skin become pinched under the heartless shackle. The blonde was always certain this would wake Hector, but it never did. He would simply adjust in his sleep, leaving a bright red mark upon his throat for Alucard to behold.

Yet he could not, for the life of him, come up with a way to broach the subject to the human. So when he awoke, Alucard merely greeted him with kindness, a gentle embrace, and by bequeathing him his coat while he retrieved the herbs he had collected the night before.

This time, Hector recognized what he was told to put into his mouth. "Oh, burdock root," he remarked, and Alucard's eyes glittered a little.

"You know your remedies? Tell me, what does this one do?"

Hector scoffed a little at the question. Had his rescuer doubted his intelligence? The forgemaster supposed he couldn't blame him, after all, he had been mute and useless for the majority of their time together.

"Well, I recall it having a... Smattering of medicinal purposes. But the one most relevant to me... Pain relief, I'd say."

"Very good, forgemaster," Alucard purred in a tone of playful patronizing, prompting a little smile from Hector, which the vampire cherished. "Chew it up, would you, so I can treat you."

Hector took a few bites out of the root and began to work on them. "Are you going to ask me to strip like last time?" He asked, testing the waters with his tone to see if a playful air would be accepted.

Alucard chuckled. "Ah, yes. I may have misspoken back then. I merely worried there were other scars hidden on your legs as well."

"Not many," the human replied as he unwound his sash from his arm and pulled his shirt over his head. Upon seeing Alucard's concerned expression, he added, "None that deserve immediate treatment." Seemingly contented, the blonde took a few bites of the root and chewed them himself. He went behind the man before spitting the burdock into his hand.

"Point to where it hurts worst," he instructed.

Hector spat the chewed up root into his own hand as well and started to work it into the wounds on his front side. "Here," he muttered, pointing at the charred, mangled mess that had become of the back of his left shoulder. "And here." Hector's finger grazed a particularly deep gash that looked like it came from a whipping.

Alucard started with the gash, gently applying the paste all the way up and down the mark. His eyes narrowed as he regarded the tragedy upon the humans shoulder. As carefully as he could, he applied the benevolent root, but still Hector hissed with pain. The vampire finished up as quickly as he could, but in his haste, his hand brushed the collar, lifting it on accident and letting it fall back down to the base of Hector's neck. He didn't seem to mind, but Alucard still felt the need to say something.

"I'm sorry about that."

"Why? It was just an accident."

"No..." The vampire looked away with a quiet sigh. "I'm sorry about the collar."

"Oh." Hector rubbed the rest of the burdock into his knee before reaching for his shirt. "Well, it's not your fault. And, in all honesty, ever since you… Ever since I left the castle... I-I don't feel it as much anymore." The man pulled on his deep blue shirt and turned to face his rescuer. Alucard reached out a hand for the offending piece of metal, resting his fingertips upon it before looking to the links of severed chain.

"Really...?" He murmured, running his fingers down the chain and grasping it in hand.

Hector gasped softly. "Please don't do that," he meekly requested, almost expecting to be ignored. Alucard immediately obliged and, embarrassed by his misstep, did not speak on it further. He arose and began to ready the night creature.

"If we leave quickly and fly with the same expedience, I think we will reach our destination late this evening," Alucard remarked.

Hector got to his feet and tilted his head. "Where is that?" He inquired while rewrapping his arm. The vampire smirked, feeling a deep desire to tease his companion, to keep him in suspense just for one more day.

"I feel certain you'll know it when you see it, General."


	7. Solace at Your Door

It would be difficult to say that either of them got used to the feeling of flying. The concussions of the massive leathery wings, the buffeting of the often cruel wind, the airsick motions of the creature itself, they all usually prompted Hector to keep his eyes closed, and Alucard to keep his set on a fixed point that rested upon the horizon. However, on this, the third day, Hector decided to try opening his eyes, but only once he sensed the sun had dimmed almost fully and there was no risk of burning his eyes. They still squinted against the wind, but in time, he was able to see his surroundings.

He couldn't have picked a better moment to feast his eyes. Their destination lay in front of them, and the sight of it made Hector's jaw drop.

"The castle..." He muttered, and the beast was slowing enough that Alucard could hear him over the wind.

"Yes. Welcome home," Alucard called, a slight smile on his lips. He had uttered those words to reassure the human that they had a place to live, somewhere to call theirs, but the man only tensed up and held the night creature tighter. Alucard couldn't fathom why. How could he have known he repeated the same cruel phrase Carmilla had told Hector when he was cast into his cell after his month long march? How could he have known that, with those simple words, the forgemaster was regarding the castle not as a solace, but as his new prison?

The night creature drew near to the building, circled it, and landed far from the front entrance. The party landed upon a bridge instead, one both men knew quite well, and for the same reason- it led to the forge.

Alucard disembarked first and gave the beast a hearty pat on its matted black side and approaching it to ruffle the fur on its face. "You naughty creature. So this is how you crept in. These doors aren't as heavy as the ones in front, are they...? I would be angry with you, but you did so splendidly flying us back to Wallachia. I suppose you've earned my forgiveness."

Awed by the sweet display, Hector slid off of the creature's back without support from Alucard, though he did lean against the beast heavily once he was off. He stared curiously until Alucard looked back and caught him, at which point he turned away, bearing a bashful expression.

"What is it?" The vampire inquired.

"...I haven't seen very many people treat them with respect like that," Hector answered after some hesitance. "They regard the night creatures as… Mere pawns. Unthinking beings that only serve the purpose of killing. But they can be a lot more than that."

Alucard hummed pensively and strode closer to his companion, lifting the man's arm and wrapping it over his shoulders to help him walk. Hector looked over his shoulder as Alucard started to walk them to the opposite side of the bridge. If they just turned around and walked the other direction, the forge wouldn't be far. He knew better than to get his hopes up after everything he had already been through, but part of him wanted to break away from his rescuer, run downstairs, and check if his birds, his fox, his cat, and little Cezar were all still there. But if this was to be his home now, permanently, then he was certain he'd be cast into his quarters and put to work soon enough. He could check then.

"You favor one leg over the other, Hector," the vampire noted, stirring the silver haired man from his thoughts. "What happened to you?"

Hector cast out his breath in a bitter exhale, something between a scoff and a callous laugh. "There was a... Sharp incline. On the road to Styria. I couldn't see it. I tried to catch myself, but..." The man sighed. "My ankle... I don't know what's wrong with it. I didn't hear anything snap. It's just strange that it hasn't healed yet."

"How long were you on the road for?" Alucard asked, pushing open the door for them.

"I... I don't know," Hector had to admit.

"Guess," the blonde insisted.

The human let out his breath and tried to think. "A month...?" He hypothesized, shaking his head.

"And you kept walking after you were hurt?"

"I didn't have a choice."

"Then it's no surprise at all why it hasn't healed. You don't walk on a sprain. Any idiot should know at least that."

Hector laughed softly. "Yeah, well... Not any idiot." After the words rolled off his tongue, he immediately regretted it. If Alucard really was working with Carmilla- or if this wasn't even the real Alucard at all, but a convincing double- then Hector had destroyed his chances of survival.

They were approaching a staircase. As Hector felt Alucard remove his arm from the vampire's shoulders, he felt certain he would be lifted and thrown down the stairs as punishment. When he was indeed lifted up, Hector grasped at Alucard's shirt fearfully and looked up at him, wordlessly begging for mercy. But the blonde simply carried his companion carefully down the stairs.

"Would it hurt less if I carried you the rest of the way?" Alucard asked, ignoring the piteous look he had been given, hoping conversation would make it disappear.

Hector blinked. "How far do we still have to walk?"

"...Not much," the vampire answered. "It would almost be more of a bother to put you back down."

Hector had no reply to that, but it was apparent that he didn't want to be a bother. He both relented and relaxed as Alucard turned one final corner, leading them both into a room of the castle that Hector had never before seen.

"It's beautiful..." Those were the only words with which Hector could describe the little sanctuary. The room was golden and ornate, a testament to opulence as well as knowledge. Bookshelves lined the walls and stood in the empty room, packed to the brim and beyond. Little tables and cabinets held various liquids, clear and colorful, and the inquisitive streak the human bore begged him to investigate. However, from his position in Alucard's arms, there was nothing he could do for now.

Hector was placed upon a desk at the far end of the room, his back to a window. He could feel the cooling night air seeping into his back through the glass. It felt rather nice, now that he was finally indoors.

Alucard strolled away from him to look through the vials. The forgemaster wanted to investigate with him, but contented himself with staying put and watching him. Alucard was a fascinating figure, after all. He seemed so cold and stoic, but there was a warmth to him. He was kind to misunderstood creatures and beaten pets alike. Intelligence radiated through his every word, but he didn't seek to put himself above Hector because of it- a wise move, since Hector would've challenged such an attempt. But their equal intelligence made them excellent companions in conversation. The one thing that made it better was that neither of them was much for conversation in the first place. They were equally content to sit in silence and savor the symphony of existence.

However, Alucard bore a depth that was difficult for Hector to fathom. A deep pain festered behind his eyes. It was apparent enough that killing his own father had wounded the man. After all, Hector had gone through an intense period of self loathing after committing the same act. But the circumstances had been different. It wouldn't be right to say to Alucard that he understood. After all, his own father had been abusive, cruel, and power hungry, twisted and jaded by the darkness of the world, and Alucard's...

Well, Hector supposed that, to Alucard, Dracula was the very same.

The vampire sighed loudly, drawing Hector from his musings. "No," he said. "No, I can't come up with anything until I see it myself." He strode over to the human, who sat a little straighter as he came near.

"Will it hurt more if you take off your shoes, or if I do?" He asked, kneeling down before his traveling companion.

"I-I can do it," Hector answered hastily, if only for the excuse to tear his eyes away from Alucard's own. It was a strange position for him, to have someone who wanted to serve and help him. Recently, he had become used to being the servile one, and before then, he had many people beneath him in status, but never willingly so. It seemed peculiar to have someone who wanted to spend their time on him.

Hector pulled off the boot on his better foot first, but even that made the vampire gasp and recoil from him. There were broken blisters all over. His foot was encrusted with old blood. And the other was even worse. The ankle was swollen and a deep shade of red. The blisters were less prolific, since he had been walking more on his right foot than his mangled left, but they were still present and still worrying.

The blonde looked concerned, so Hector tried to reassure him. "It's really not that bad anymore. I'm sure I'll heal in time..."

Alucard whipped his head up, startling the human. "It's not that bad? Hector, your ankle has been sprained for three months, and over that time, you've been forced to put your weight on it, making the sprain even worse. The fact that you can walk at all, that you've been forcing yourself to do so in spite of the pain, is a testament to your bravery. I would usually assert that it's more of a testament to your stupidity, but you did tell me it wasn't your choice to walk." He sighed deeply. "The best thing I can do for you now is draw you a bath. I can't treat you before you and your injuries have been cleaned up, and frankly, you smell like death. More so than I'm assuming you usually do, forgemaster."

The man wanted to protest on terms of modesty and the lack of belief in its necessity, but he knew those arguments paled before Alucard's slew of good points. A bath would feel amazing. He'd had buckets of water dumped on him three times while he was a prisoner. Once after his march, once to torture him, and once because his captors, too, couldn't stand the smell of him any longer. But those hardly counted as baths.

He nodded timidly at the proposal. Alucard got back to his feet and drew close to Hector, lifting him up once again.

"I could walk there-" He tried to protest, but the look of pure incredulity he received from Alucard silenced him.

It wasn't a long walk to the bathroom, but Hector wished it could go by slower. He was terrified of revealing his entire broken body to his rescuer. Maybe he'd finally see that Hector was damaged beyond repair and he'd cast him away. Alucard would be able to see every injury at once. He'd know all of Hector's weaknesses. He could hurt him with ease, just like Carmilla...

A part of him wanted to stop Alucard there in the hallway and beg him not to harm him once he saw how broken he was. But what good would it do? People were notorious for breaking their word.

Once they were there, the wounded man could barely register the splendor of the room. It was like nothing the human world had ever seen. Alucard set Hector upon his feet, but left him close enough to the wall that he would still have support. The vampire strode over to the large tub, shaped from sparkling stone, and ran his fingers down a fixture on the wall. Steaming water began to pour magically from it, which trickled down the glimmering wall and splashed into the awaiting tub.

Hector didn't even seem interested, so Alucard returned to his side. "I know you must not be feeling very well," he prefaced, "but I dare say you'll feel better warm and clean. Besides, after this I can help fix those injuries I berated you about. Come on, now. Your bath is almost ready. Don't let it cool. You need all the warmth you can get."

Alucard let out his breath as the forgemaster unwound the bandage from his wrist and began disrobing out of compliance. He noted that the man still looked nervous, which he could understand. He certainly wouldn't like to be in Hector's position, himself. Naked, hurting, and helpless before a practical stranger. But Alucard knew he would never betray the trust of the beautiful man before him. Hopefully, this bath would prove that to his wary companion as well.

The stone of the bathroom floor felt wonderful against the human's old blisters once they were bared. It was cooling, soothing. He could feel the steam wafting further into the room, tempting him into the deep basin. As he walked to the tub, Alucard didn't know whether to help him and spare him physical pain, or leave him alone, ensuring that he wouldn't frighten the poor man. He settled upon reaching out his arm for Hector to take, if he wished, when stepping into the bath.

The forgemaster appeared wary, but fearing the pain of slipping, falling, and potentially being punished for his mistake, he took hold. As he dipped his toes into the warm water, his initial reaction was a wince of pain, but as his weary, broken body sank in deeper, his expression changed to one of relaxed contentment. This was absolutely, undoubtedly magical. Hector couldn't think of a time he had ever felt this amazing. A peaceful smile drifted across his face, and Alucard was glad to be the one who had caused it.

Loathe to interrupt the moment of tranquility within the other male, Alucard decided it would be best to leave him temporarily, instead of looming over him like a hawk, but the sounds of his stirring caused Hector to lift his relaxed silver lashes and turn his head to regard him.

"You're leaving?" He asked.

Alucard stopped and cast a glance over his shoulder.

"Do you want me to stay?"

"No," Hector instantly retorted, sinking deeper into the water. To Alucard, only the human's bright blue eyes were visible above the wall of the massive tub. "I just didn't think you'd trust me to be alone after yesterday."

The vampire chuckled quietly. "Do you intend to leave the bath and go search for firewood, Hector?"

The silver headed male glowered slightly and looked away, embarrassed by the condescending question. "Of course not."

"No, I didn't think so. You're a grown man. I think you can handle a bath." Alucard took a step closer to the door. "I'm just going to get you some medicine. I trust you can take care of yourself while I'm gone." And with that order, the vampire left. Hector still glared after him. The heir of Dracula certainly knew how to wear thin the nerves of all those around him. It was his most irritating quality, but the worst part of it was that Alucard constantly had a point. He wouldn't lash out except from the correct ideological position, firmly planted upon the moral high ground. Hector couldn't exactly combat his points or defy him by not washing. What good would that accomplish?

Hector took a deep breath and looked down at his own body to remind himself of how much worse it could be. With that thought heavy in his mind, the pet obeyed his new master, carefully but thoroughly removing the months of built up grime and blood.

When Alucard returned, arms laden with medical supplies, he was greeted at the door by the faint sound of crying. He froze in his tracks, slowly peering beyond the door. It was like Hector could sense his presence, though, for the second his eyes regarded Hector, Hector turned to look at him. The forgemaster raised a wet hand to his face, masking the tears, and tried to steady his breath, but he knew it was in vain. Alucard had already seen.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

Alucard stepped into the room. "Why are you sorry...?"

Hector wouldn't answer, but it was only because he couldn't. He was trying desperately to fight the lump in his throat. Alucard tried again.

"Why were you crying...?" He asked in the most gentle tone he could muster.

It took Hector time to gather the words, but since this question was of much more importance, Alucard was willing to wait.

"It all hurts so much..." Hector breathed, his shoulders shuddering on the next inhale. “I shouldn't… It isn't your fault I'm like this. You've treated me so well, but… I… Can't take it anymore. I can't, it… It's too much...! It's…” The man choked back another sob, but doing so forced him to fall silent.

Alucard's expression softened. He reached out his hand to gently touch Hector's face, prompting him to lift his eyes and look at him. The human bore a heartbreaking expression, one that forced a poor semblance of confidence in spite of great personal anguish.

"I know it hurts." Alucard breathed. "But I'm going to help you."

He released Hector's face to take his hand instead. Hector watched as his savior brought it to his lips and gasped as Alucard kissed it so caringly. He met Hector's eyes again with such a pure, benevolent expression that no words of protest could even begin to form in his mind. All he wanted then was for the son of Dracula to heal his broken body, for he had already started his healing work upon Hector's heart.


	8. Headspin Happiness

Alucard didn't sleep. But if he did, he would have been haunted by nightmares of the human's screams.

He knew the treatments he gave could be painful, and he had explained that to the human as well, who swore his consent up and down, filled with the overwhelming desire to begin the path to healing. But understanding couldn't hold back the tears.

How Hector had howled when he was treated! Alucard had tried to account for the pain, to counteract and dull it, but it all seemed to be to no avail.

The good did far outweigh the bad. Hector was free from infection, to begin with. All his wounds had been cleaned and bandaged. Some took stitches, which had made the human hiss and squirm and whimper beneath him in a manner so stirringly tragic, the mere memory was bringing tears to Alucard's eyes. Then there was the ankle.

Again, the good triumphed over the bad. The leg was set now and on the path to healing. But to do that, he had to pull it into place. There was no way to remedy him without bringing about great agony.

His scream echoed in Alucard's ears. Helplessly, Hector had pawed at his savior's clothes, writhing in torment. Tears streamed down the man's beautiful face. Hector couldn't see it, but they had flowed readily down Alucard's own as well. The vampire had wished with all his might for an easier way to do this, but tragically, the only way to remedy the onslaught of suffering the man had faced was by giving him a little bit more, even if only to save him from any and all future suffering.

Hector had forgiven him. Even after all the pain, Hector knew he felt better now, and that he would continue to heal. That swift, unquestioning forgiveness, that had hurt the vampire more than anything. Even now, Alucard battled the incredibly strong urge to cry openly, to mourn the harm he had inflicted upon the very soul he so deeply desired to befriend... But if he did break down as he desired, he would wake the poor man who was sleeping so trustingly right in front of him.

Alucard had never seen a sight that bore any more sweetness and purity than the sight of his companion at this hour. His freshly cleaned body was wrapped in bright white bandages, and the white shirt Alucard had given him hung off his sleeping frame in a manner near angelic. Alucard wanted to run a hand through those thick, bouncy curls, no longer weighed down by dirt and sweat and blood. But he worried it would wake him. If Hector still trusted him after everything he had been through, everything Alucard had put him through, then Alucard shouldn't risk it all on a whim. He sighed and continued his restful watch.

In the hour just before the dawn, the human started to stir. Alucard wondered if that meant he was waking up, but no, it was something much worse.

"No... No..." Hector whispered and grunted in his sleep, rolling over onto his back with a pained expression. Alucard sat up, his eyes wide and fixed on his companion, seemingly caught in some bad dream. Perhaps he would drift out of it, the vampire wondered, but no such thing happened.

The man turned over onto his other side, then onto his back again, writhing as if to escape the clutches of some great beast. He was panting heavily, and his chain was trapped underneath his body, pulling his collar tight against his neck.

Alucard could no longer bear to watch. "Hector!" He barked urgently, taking the human by his shoulder, which had become bared by all the thrashing. "Wake up! You're dreaming! Hector, wake up!" Alucard called assertively. With a petrified scream, Hector burst awake just as he had been told. He clutched the blankets close to him, shivering and gasping for breath.

"Are you okay...?" The vampire asked softly. He reached out a hand to gently touch Hector's shoulder. He flinched away.

"Yes..." Hector answered, still trembling, plagued by lingering fear.

"You don't look it," Alucard mentioned.

The human sighed and bowed his head. "I know." He appeared to be lost in his own thought for some time before pulling the covers even closer and settling himself back into bed.

"I'll feel better if I just go back to sleep," he declared, as if saying it aloud to the universe would suddenly give the sentiment its truth. He lay with his back to Alucard, who had also settled back down under what remained of the blankets. It was far harder for Alucard to keep from holding his companion when, from this angle, he looked just the perfect size to be held. His arm would settle across Hector's waist, his hand beneath his sternum, feeling his heart beat softly. His forehead could settle into the back of Hector's neck, comforted by the tickle of his soft hair. His bent legs would fit just so into the crook of Hector's, and they'd spend the remainder of the night together, embracing, finally receiving the touch they each hungered after.

"Alucard...?" A hesitant voice broke through the vampire's thoughts. He was glad to be stirred from them, anyway. Too much longing, and he may have actually followed through.

"Yes...? What is it?"

"... I can't sleep."

Alucard let out his breath. "I can't either." Hector rolled over to look at the blonde after that remark. He looked apologetic, as if he thought his disruptive nightmare had been what prevented the vampire from returning to his nonexistent slumber. He even parted his lips to begin an apology, but Alucard stopped him by speaking first.

"Would you like to simply start the day early? There was something I was planning to show you."

Hector blinked. "Uh- Yes. Okay." Though the vague, almost cryptic sentence sparked a bit of fear, perhaps even dread, within the human's soul, he knew better than to inquire about it. He had been made very aware of just how much his inquisitive nature peeved those around him, and had learned it was much safer just to hold his tongue.

Alucard moved to exit the bed first, so Hector reacted quickly by doing the same. He didn't want to keep the vampire waiting. But as he moved, his recently treated wounds ached with leftover soreness from what they'd been put through. Hector groaned deeply, hugging himself as if that would numb the pain. He closed his eyes in a tight grimace, and when he opened them, he was greeted by Alucard's open, outstretched palm, ready to assist him whenever he would choose to take it.

It was just so easy for Alucard to lift him. Hector was beginning to realize this. Alucard wouldn't even grunt or hesitate or show signs of tiring while he carried him. Instead of correctly concluding that this was due to Alucard's vampiric strength, Hector instead turned to self loathing, berating himself for becoming so small, so weak, and so broken that he could be toted around as effortlessly as one would carry a house cat or lapdog.

Hector had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't been paying any attention to where he was being taken. Of course, that was until Alucard stopped walking. The forgemaster turned his head to the side to regard his surroundings and gasped once they fully registered to him.

"So this is one of yours, then," the blonde hummed, referring to the bloodied slab and the piles of rotting bodies nearby.

"No, no, it isn't..." Hector muttered. "It's Isaac's." He adjusted himself in Alucard's arms to show that he wanted to be placed down and, begrudgingly, the vampire let the human to the ground on his bandaged feet.

"Isaac?" Alucard repeated.

The silver haired man limped closer to the slab, leaning against it. Memories of his time in Dracula's army washed over him. They felt like recollections of another life. Hector remembered everything from shaking Dracula's hand to swear his allegiance, to the ramblings of that intolerable Godbrand, to talking with Isaac under the gleaming golden sun. It was after that conversation that everything changed. Why couldn't Isaac have told him no? If he had just been a little more stubborn, then Carmilla never would have...

But all of those opportunities were gone now, severed by bad choices and incorrect allegiances. Hector sighed deeply.

"There were two of us. Isaac was… The other forgemaster. The other human. We were both his generals. We-" Hector couldn't bring himself to finish his train of thought. His fist clenched atop the table. "I betrayed him. If Dracula is dead, then he must be, too. He never would've left his side. He was stronger than me. He always was."

Alucard regarded his companion with a soft expression. It seemed this castle stirred up ghosts of painful histories for everyone who set foot within its walls, not just him. He approached Hector to stand beside him.

"Remember, I was there when Dracula was defeated. I was the one who killed him. I only saw one human in the castle other than the two I brought with me. I tried to kill him, I admit… But I did not succeed. And I did not see him again. This Isaac fellow must have simply left. I promise I did not harm him.”

Hector looked up, utterly perplexed. "That isn't possible... That..." The man looked to the side and exhaled sharply through his nose. "He wouldn't have just left."

"Yet, somehow, he did."

The forgemaster bowed his head in defeat, confused by the contradiction. How could Isaac abandon Dracula after berating Hector himself for his supposed lack of loyalty? It made no sense. Perhaps his body was lost in the castle somewhere, killed by one of Carmilla's brutal soldiers. What little reassurance Hector could find was that Isaac had probably died happy, defending a cause he wholeheartedly supported.

Alucard placed his hand upon Hector's shoulder. "Come. There was more I wanted you to see." He moved to pick Hector up again, but the man took a step back and reached out a hand to stop him.

"... May I at least try to walk?" The human requested cautiously, trying to make his voice sound as respectful as he possibly could. He did not want to vex the man before him, but being carried from place to place made Hector feel helpless, a feeling with which he had become far too well acquainted. So far, Alucard had been treating him almost as an equal. If he was truly that, then hopefully this request wouldn't be too irksome. If he was not... Then at least the guise would end early, and Hector would not be pained by it being dragged out even further.

Alucard's yellow eyes narrowed, which made Hector startle. He was about ready to start verbally backtracking when the blonde gave his response.

"No. I can't allow you to repeat your misfortune. If you walk on that ankle, it will become warped and twisted, and I will have to set it again. I don't want to have to do that, Hector. Can you honestly say you do?"

Hector huffed and turned his head to the side. He was happy, at least, that he wasn't berated or beaten for his request, but still, he hadn't received quite the answer he was hoping.

"Please don't be upset with me," Alucard beseeched his companion in a tone part chiding, part comforting, as he lifted the man into his arms again. "It isn't my fault your ankle is sprained."

"It isn't mine, either..." Hector murmured, looking longingly at the ground.

They both were silent as they travelled deeper into the castle. Once Alucard opened the door which led onto the outside bridge, Hector perked up. This was the way to his own forge. He knew the path well, but he was loathe to dictate to Alucard which way he wanted to be taken. All he knew was that the vampire had something else he wanted to show him. He had no guarantee it was his forge. Perhaps it was a dungeon, a new cell for him to call home, a new tether for his chain. But he so desperately wanted it to be his forge. He missed everything about that place so much it pained him.

They took a right. They descended the stairs. What else was even in this part of the castle besides his forge? They had to be going there, they had to be! Hector could feel his heart beat faster. He was finally returning to the place he loved, to the pets he loved. God, how he hoped they were all still there...!

They turned the corner into the hallway of his forge. Alucard paused outside the door, and they both looked in.

There, little Cezar lifted his head and recognition resurrected his soul for the second time.

"Cezar!!" Hector cried, practically leaping from Alucard's arms to run to him. Alucard winced as the human's feet hit the hard stone floor, but soon melted into a warm smile and entered the room as well. He had known this place belonged to Hector. The eyes of the night creature were far too similar in unnatural hue to this pup for the two to have been created by different masters. He had simply been curious whether or not the man had two workstations. The vampire stood next to Hector, who was kneeling on the ground with his arms outstretched, awaiting his beloved pet.

The little pup jumped down from the table and hesitantly padded over to the two men, looking between them. With a little whimper, Cezar walked past Hector to paw at Alucard's boots instead. The blonde looked shocked, and knelt in confusion to stroke the little beast, wondering why on earth he had chosen him above his own creator.

Hector sighed, but the smile did not leave his face. "I see. So that is how you want to be." With a grunt, he arose to his feet and began to limp back out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Alucard instantly called after him, quite curtly, as he was shocked by the sudden turn. "Are you really so cruel that you would abandon your own creation twice? Come back here!"

As the vampire's voice rose, Cezar whined pitifully and scampered longingly after his master, who instantly pivoted on his good heel and dropped again, embracing his little puppy wholeheartedly. Cezar licked at Hector's face and pawed at his chest, his tail wagging so much it shook his whole body. The man himself was laughing as much as he was crying.

"Oh, Cezar, Cezar...! I thought I'd never see you again...!" He lay on his back on the ground, allowing the pup to stand over him so they could continue to adore each other. Hector turned his blue eyes back to Alucard, who swore he had never seen them brighter. This was a man who smiled with his eyes and captivated worlds when he did.

"Thank you for calling out after me. I think that was what really sold it. He never would've ignored me, not really... Just to punish me for leaving. He would never let me leave again, would you?" Hector scratched at the dog's good ear tenderly, his entire focus fixated upon this creature, who he loved so much.

Alucard settled himself down to lie upon the floor as well. "Why did you leave him, then...?" He dared to ask, thinking that, if the human was in such a good mood, he might answer some more pressing questions of Alucard's.

"I never wanted to," Hector answered, his smile beginning to dim. That alone made Alucard regret asking. "I was tricked by Carmilla. She had me build her an army. They were called into existence so she could build her own forces and use them to overtake Dracula. She had me convinced that he wanted to kill me, to kill everybody, so I… Complied. But then, when he was dead… Once the one person who could stop her was dead... She captured me and took me to Styria so I could keep working for her indefinitely. That was… Where you found me." Hector sighed. "I never did properly thank you for that, did I...?" The human asked, still gently stroking Cezar, who had now curled up peacefully upon the forgemaster's chest.

Alucard smiled softly as he regarded the two. The warmth that bloomed within his heart could outshine the very sun.

"Don't worry. You just did."


	9. Two Evils

"I could get rid of it for you."

"Get rid of what...?" Hector asked absently, lifting his hand from its resting place atop Cezar's head to turn the page of his book. A pleased expression had settled upon his visage which, after the past few days of healing, was almost entirely back to normal. He had a bit of a bruise remaining under his left eye, and his busted lip was having trouble recovering fully. But what had really changed about the human was his demeanor. He was lighter now, and Alucard could tell. Once, Hector had dreaded every new day, but now he seemed excited by them. Though his world did not yet consist of much beyond bookshelves, it was better than the hell he had been forced to endure previously. He leaned into the vampire's side unwarily.

"Get rid of this," Alucard answered, his fingertips gently brushing Hector's chain. The sound of it immediately tore the forgemaster's eyes from his book to look up at the other occupant of the castle, made a bit on edge.

Alucard took his hand away. "Sorry. How could I forget...?"

"No, don't worry about it..." Hector responded, tangling his own fingers in the links mournfully. He could still remember the very instant this accursed shackle had closed around his neck, destroying his trust, his hope, everything.

"Hector...? Are you feeling well...?" The blonde inquired of him. He sighed. He must've been looking particularly upset, then. Hector put his book to the side and began to stroke Cezar softly, who wagged his curly tail in appreciation.

"You said you could get rid of it?" He asked instead of giving a response.

The vampire exhaled softly through his nose. "Yes, I think I might be close to discerning what magic it is and then learning how to end the spell, removing the collar permanently."  
"Wow. How were you able to... To find out just from looking?" Hector asked, again turning his eyes to his chain instead of his puppy.

Alucard smirked. "Simply put, Hector... I haven't just been reading nonsense like you have."  
Hector scoffed and recovered his book, holding it up for Alucard to see. "It's far from nonsense! This is one of Master Dracula's tomes."

"Mm, I'm aware," the vampire hummed, and Hector started to chuckle from the sheer coldness of that statement. Alucard looked at him from the corner of his eye to behold his smile. "Am I wrong, then?" He asked as a follow up question once Hector's laugher had slowed.

The human sighed and shook his head. "Oh, it's hard to say. The man was a genius. I don't need to tell you. So these... Compilations, the ideas in them, they're... They're remarkable, but they're..."

"Delusional?"

"Precisely! I mean, look at this." Hector leaned in closer with the book upon half his lap and Cezar, of course, on the other half. Alucard turned his head to read along. "Look. Some sort of contraption to permanently block out the sun? It's... Amazing to me how someone could figure out how to make such a thing... And yet not know how terrible that would be. For everything. The trees, the undergrowth... Without the light from the sun, over a very brief period of time, they would just die. The animals would be soon to follow. And without any source of blood, then the vampires. Everything would be gone. Completely gone."

The blonde tilted his head, regarding Hector with a curious expression. "And that would be... Bad? I thought you were on his side."

Hector sighed. "The more I read... The more I realize I never truly was." He handed the book off to Alucard so he could give the dog his full attention. "He promised me a cull. Genocide was... Never a term that appealed to me. However, humans are, by nature, cruel and destructive creatures. To reduce them in number, but otherwise leave the rest of the world alone... That was what I desired. But these plans... A cull was never what he wanted."

"No," Alucard agreed. "What he wanted was suicide by war. Whether he won or lost, he wanted to die. And he wanted to drag all the humans down with him as punishment for their sins. Including you," the vampire breathed. "And your cull."

Hector let out a resentful huff. "Yes. I was made very aware of that." He bowed his head. "He lied to me."

"He lied to everyone," Alucard mentioned, trying his best to reassure.

"And everyone lies to me," Hector muttered, allowing his misery and bitterness to overtake him momentarily.

Feeling the need to comfort his companion, the vampire shifted a little closer. He reached out a gentle hand to pet Cezar, who welcomed the extra affection excitedly.

"That isn't true," he muttered. "I haven't lied to you."

Hector looked up at the man, his bright blue eyes a little wide with shock at the sweet sentiment. But soon they were washed over with the pain of his history and he looked away again with a little scoff.

"No. But you haven't said all that much to me yet. Give it time."

Alucard's eyes widened a bit. He was stunned both by the statement itself and by the way it was said to him, without any hint of hope or disbelief. Even after all he had done, Hector still thought he was going to hurt him. Just in a different way.

The vampire sighed and looked his companion over. "Would it be alright to touch your collar, just to look at it?"

The human sighed, but then nodded. Alucard put his own book to the side, leaving it open as he did. He turned to Hector, using the tips of his fingers to lift his chin. The forgemaster's eyelids fluttered shut and his brow tilted up just slightly. Worry was building inside of him. As he felt Alucard's hand take hold of the metal ring, Hector flinched audibly.

"Do you worry I'm going to hurt you, Hector...?" The vampire asked in his usual cool, guarded tone. Hector perceived that voice as being threatening. He bit his lip nervously before answering.

"Yes."

That one breathy syllable sent a shard of ice right through Alucard's heart. He could not blame the human for that response. He did not blame himself, either, for failing to heal him. He understood how much time that would require. No, the emotion he felt was not one that required blame. All he felt for this poor man was sadness and sympathy. What on earth had been done to him to make his trust so frayed?

"Why...?" He continued, trying to get some semblance of a history out of this man, other than the scraps he had already learned. Alucard inspected the keyhole closely, his breaths slow but present against Hector's neck.

He shuddered. "I can't understand why you wouldn't hurt me. Why you don't hurt me. By all means, you should want to."

Alucard was silent for a while before letting out his breath in a heartbroken sigh. "Enlighten me. Why should I want to hurt you when you've done me no harm?"

"Because I killed your father."

The vampire's grip tightened around the collar, making Hector startle. Such a claim was utterly ridiculous. He couldn't understand why such an intelligent man would ever say something so contrived.

Hector continued in an attempt to fill the heavy silence. His words were clipped from fear. "I don't expect you to ever forgive me. He was your father, after all. You must've still loved him, at least a little."

"That's insane," Alucard hissed softly, releasing the collar and moving out of Hector's space. The blonde rubbed at his forehead with his fingertips.

His sky blue eyes slowly opened. "You didn't love him?" He guessed after Alucard refused to clarify. Alucard whipped his head up to stare at him, and the wary forgemaster shifted further away.

"No, you saying that you killed my father is insane. I killed my father."

"Yes, you did," Hector agreed, his head bowed but his eyes still locked onto the vampire's piercing golden gaze. "But you did so by utilizing the opening Carmilla and I created. It was I who advocated... Cluelessly... For the attack on Braila, it was I who swayed the court... It was I who swayed Master Dracula himself. It was all my fault. You may have been the one wielding the stake, but I was the one who brought him to you, weakened."

"You. Were not. There." Alucard enunciated through his teeth. "You. Did not. Kill him. You cannot keep blaming yourself for something you didn't do. You cannot keep living your life expecting a punishment you do not deserve!"

"I do deserve it!" Hector insisted, though the admission of it wrenched at his heart. "I allowed him to be killed when he trusted me to give him guidance! By sitting idly by... By allowing it all to happen, I'm... I'm no better than the witnesses at the death of your mother...! People like me are the reason humanity was to be ended!"

"But that does not make you a murderer, Hector! I staked my father's heart! I killed him! I watched him turn to dust!"

"And I didn't!" Hector growled. "Because I was fool enough to be tricked and captured in-instead of being there for him when he needed his generals most!"

"He didn't need you!" Alucard shouted, his eyes flashing with fury. Hector flinched, raising his hands as if to defend himself from a blow. The vampire remembered his tone and intentionally lowered it to a less fearsome level. "He didn't need you. He didn't need anybody. Not even me."

Hector was still panting from his whirlwind of emotions, from fear to fury to self loathing and, ultimately, back to fear. But with those broken final words, his racing heart was beginning to slow. He tried to think of what to say to rebut that truly disheartening claim. His mind raced for an argument formulated not to tear himself apart for his transgressions but to lift the spirits of another victim of this tragic war.

No words came.

Alucard sighed deeply, trying to ignore the utter lovelessness in his soul. "Let's not argue over this anymore. Dracula is dead. He is not missing either one of us. It doesn't matter who he did or didn't need. We need each other now. I don't wish to alienate the only other person in this castle."

The forgemaster took some time to mull over what he was told, but eventually nodded. What struck him as strange was the comment about how they needed each other. Hector was very aware that he needed Alucard. Alucard brought food, gave him shelter, helped to heal his body, and all on the lone implied condition that he continue to please him. But he could not fathom what he was needed for. His hammer was gone, lost back in Carmilla's castle, so his forging powers were heavily diminished. Sure, with two metal objects and some time to focus his energy upon them, he could still raise creatures and spark magic to some degree of success, but it still would be nowhere near his standards. Hector hoped and prayed that that wasn't the purpose Alucard intended to bestow upon him. If Alucard's standards were as high as Carmilla's had been, he'd be kicked from this comfortable life in an instant.

The silver haired human could barely stand to think on it. All he was willing to dwell upon was the thought that he was needed for something and, whatever that thing was, it was saving his life, so he should be grateful.

Alucard retrieved his book and moved closer to his companion. "To return to topic... The spell necessary to remove your collar is rather difficult. It was created with a key, which would unlock it with ease. But we both know I do not have that."

"I doubt Carmilla has it either," Hector scoffed. "She probably threw it away."

Alucard chuckled. "She might've. But I'm just trying to warn you not to think that this attempt will automatically free you. I am... Somewhat skilled in magical matters, but I might not be powerful enough for this." The blonde knew just the woman for the job, who could free Hector from his collar as easily as blinking. But he did not know where she was, or even if she was alive. He would simply have to rely upon his own ability.

"I won't. Get my hopes up," Hector interjected, stirring Alucard from his thoughts.

The vampire smiled softly. "Oh? You won't at all? Don't you trust in me at least a little?" He asked playfully, leaning forward and gently taking Hector's chin in his hand, lifting it and adjusting the collar.

"No... Not one bit," Hector responded in a tone just as unserious, a bit of a smile beginning to tug at his lips. Alucard's fingers settled upon the keyhole.

"Good," he breathed, and began his incantation. Hector could feel the warmth of magic spreading through the metal as the heir of Dracula fought to free him. His fists and jaw clenched in anticipation, and the hair by his neck started to move as if stirred by a breeze.  
As soon as Alucard stopped his incantation and opened his eyes, the breeze halted and the collar cooled almost instantly. Hector watched as Alucard popped the collar loose and began to open it.

As he separated the metal, a searing band of magic, glowing bright red and white, filled the open gap with a sinister hiss. Hector screamed. Alucard instantly snapped the collar shut once more, at which point, Hector stumbled away from him, utterly petrified.

Alucard knew then that he had failed and the magic still had a strong hold on his friend, stronger than he could hope to break at this moment in time. But Hector did not know this. All he saw was a man who he had argued with, who he had angered, seeking to cause him fear and harm. He held his neck protectively, gasping for breath, and stared up at the vampire with a wounded expression, frightened tears welling in his eyes.

"I'm sorry for arguing," he shuddered, hoping an upfront apology would spare him from further wrath.

This floored Alucard, whose jaw dropped just a fraction. "Do you really think you can't disagree with me without punishment? Look at me," he added in his gentlest tone after Hector refused to give him any answer. The silver haired man slowly lifted his beautiful blue eyes and gave a broken response.

"I deserve it."

"No, you don't," Alucard immediately replied, but Hector shook his head and asserted his claim.

"Yes, I do. We both do," he added, which stunned the vampire into silence enough that he could get a few more words in edgewise. "We know what we've done. I've ended a great many lives, in order and action, and, and you and I together... We ended a great life. We deserve hell."

Alucard sighed and took a step forward. The human looked up at him with sad, withdrawn eyes that seemed to be accepting his fate.

"It's possible we have both already lived through the hell we each have earned."

The tension seemed to drift out of Hector's shoulders with that, but it was returned the instant Alucard reached up to grasp at his chain.

"I won't be trying that spell for the collar again today. But, if you'll let me, I'll sever this." His yellow eyes flicked up to meet Hector's sky blue ones.

The forgemaster swallowed and nodded vigorously. "Please," he breathed.

The vampire released the chain momentarily to fish through their surroundings in the forge for an instrument that could help them cut the metal links. His sword could do it, but Alucard did not feel that Hector would be very accepting of such a dangerous, imposing weapon being so close to his face and throat. Eventually, the blonde found a simple dagger and, looking it over, decided to put it into the human's hand instead of keeping it in his own. Hector looked up at him, perplexed.

"You're magic, aren't you, forgemaster?" Alucard asked, answering his own question as he did. "You don't really need me in order to be rid of your chains. You can do it yourself with this, I'm certain of it." The vampire smiled softly at his companion, who grasped the knife with a newfound fire.

Yes, he could free himself with this. It would be metal against metal, after all, and his collar and chain were likely suffuse with his energy by now, since he hadn't been separated from them in months. Upon inspecting the dagger Alucard had produced more closely, he realized that this was his as well. Though he used it more for exhuming bodies than for raising them, he supposed it would work perfectly just for generating a spark, a big one, which was all he needed to do. Just create a magic spark big enough to break the chain.

His magic flickered forth from his palm to the blade as he traced down it. It burned bright, with an intensity it hadn't harbored in months, not since he was working under Dracula. All of his mourning for that man, all of his hatred for Carmilla, and all of his desire to be free became channeled into that blade. Once all his power had been concentrated into the weapon, he pulled his chain taut and then swung the knife down upon it with a cry.

The links melted as soon as the blade touched them, the spark parting them as if they were made from butter. Still filled to the brim with the power of his own emotion, Hector passed the blade through the point where the chains joined to the collar itself, and they fell apart just as easily, leaving only the golden collar remaining.

Hector tossed the knife to the ground, the flame dissipating instantly once it was released from his hand. He brought his shaking hands up to touch his neck. His eyes focused upon Alucard's boot and travelled up to meet his slightly stunned gaze.

"How... How are you feeling?" Alucard asked nervously, worried that this course of action might've overtaxed his convalescing companion.

Hector panted for a second and looked down at the melted, fractured segments of chain before looking up at Alucard again with a smile.

"Lighter. Much, much lighter."


	10. Warmth

The silence of the castle was overwhelming. It had been noticeable even when inhabited by all the creatures of the night Hector used to call colleagues, but now the absence of everything just seeped into his soul, filling him up from the inside.

Alucard wasn't with him. But he wondered anyway just how the vampire was able to survive it. He wouldn't want to be alone in this place, not even now, as he wandered. Recently, Alucard had been allowing him to do that, just wander. Ever since Hector had built himself his own crutch, he had been granted that freedom. It was a bit degrading to the proud human to be forced to hobble around, unable to bear weight on his own two feet, but it was worth it. Being confined just to his forge, the bathroom, Alucard's favorite workroom, and the bedroom the pair still shared was beginning to take its toll on Hector. Yes, it was far better than his cell at Carmilla's, but any enclosed, restricted area could begin to feel like a prison to the nature loving human. If a crutch was what it took to grant Hector the ability to roam as he wished, he would oblige.

Ever since he started to explore what had become of the castle, he did so with one main goal in mind- finding the remainder of his pets, or at least solidifying in his mind that they had left. He had always known that Cezar, the most loyal and dependent of them all, would wait for him. Even when the darker parts of his mind tormented him by saying his dog would leave, Hector always knew better. But he could not expect them all to stay put. The cat was more capricious than that, and the fox, less devoted. The birds, he was almost certain, had flown away. There was still a chance for the two mammals, though, so Hector would not give up until he had searched every room at least twice. Even if it proved fruitless, it would at least keep his mind occupied.

The castle had changed greatly since last he saw it, but Hector supposed such things would only be meaningful to experienced eyes, like his and Alucard's, who had seen the castle in a better state. All the impressive monuments to Dracula's notoriety were now destroyed, having been melted, shattered, and crumbled by the final chapter of the war. Hector wondered how many were Alucard's fault. Hector wondered how to ask.

Today, the man decided to follow the path of destruction, retracing the exact steps taken to end Master Dracula's reign over the war. Standing before a massive, circular hole in the wall, Hector determined that this would be as good a place to begin as any. However, as he hopped his way through the tunnel, he realized that this was also where the path ended. He looked around for the cat and the fox, and then turned his eyes upward to search for the birds, and that was when he saw that this was not the final battleground of the war. No, Dracula and his heir had taken to the skies, bursting through the ceiling. As Hector took the stairs instead, dragging himself up step by perilous step, he wondered what it would be like to fly like they could. In his state, Hector mused that he would not even touch the ground again until he had healed.

Once on the second story, Hector located the room to which the battle had moved. Shards of glass were scattered about on the floor, leading the silver headed male to give the room only a cursory looking over before picking his way across as quickly and carefully as possible. Alucard would be upset with him for lingering around such danger.

It was strange to Hector just how much he had grown to care whether or not Alucard was pleased with him. He liked seeing those stony, guarded yellow eyes soften for just a bit in a warm smile. He enjoyed his companionship, and while he knew by now that the vampire wouldn't revoke that companionship easily, Hector simply enjoyed himself better when they were spending time together on pleasant terms instead of disappointed ones. The forgemaster realized that now he was acting out of his own interest and his own desire instead of out of fear. The change was a welcome one. Hector continued on.

The path extending from that room was a long one. Hector crossed a narrow stone bridge, overlooking the melted engines of the castle, then wandered through a long hallway, then what looked like a dining room. From there, he had to find and ascend another staircase. As he did, the human mused over the path he had already followed. The sheer power these two creatures possessed was unfathomable, but so was the sheer hatred. For the vampires to pursue each other in battle over such a long course, they must have each loathed the other entirely, simply for espousing opposing viewpoints. Dracula must have hated his son for trying to stop the noble war, the war that would end all other wars, and Alucard must have seen something so redeemable in humanity that he would even kill his own father to protect that one shining feature. Hector wondered what that feature could possibly be.

The human's crutches encountered wrinkled carpet once more, so he knew he had found another piece of the battleground. He chose to follow it, but it ended quite thoroughly in one room. There were few signs of a struggle in here, other than a charred patch of rug, a busted bookshelf, and scratch marks by the door. No signs of exit.

This room, then. This must be where it all came to an end.

Hector looked around, drinking it in. It looked like a child's room. He moved to the beautiful, circular window and stared out at the bright blue sky, marveling the feel of the sunshine beaming through the glass to warm his face. How he had missed the warmth...

The man sighed and turned his back to the window, letting the sun sink into the black fabric of his shirt. His aquamarine eyes searched over the room once more. So this was where Alucard grew up. With a little smile, Hector began to muse about what he could learn about his rescuer through this room. He limped over to the desk, finding mathematical equations that were beyond him. When inspecting the fallen books, Hector found similar equations, and it comforted his pride to know that he could understand with only a little more reading.

On a much more pure and innocent note, Hector's eyes fell upon the small barrel of stuffed animals. The forgemaster chuckled softly and walked over to it, his fingertips tracing over the plush fur of a stuffed wolf. Of course Alucard was an animal lover. Hector could tell from the way he'd treated the night creature and, more recently, Cezar. It was an adorable image- that precious young boy from all the portraits, hugging this cute little toy tightly, filled with love and joy. The man lifted the toy out of the barrel to hug to his own chest, and was stunned by what he found beneath.

His pet cat stirred from slumber with a slight purr, regarding its creator with its gleaming blue eyes. It meowed and climbed on top of the toys to greet the long lost human.

"Hello! Oh, hello! So this is where you've been...?" Hector cooed, scratching at the cat's cheeks, prompting it to start purring. He grinned as the cat rubbed against his outstretched arms, each creature just so happy to be reunited with the other.

Hector's head was turned by heavy breathing and the click of heels against the castle floors before he even heard the vampire's familiar voice calling for him.

"Hector?"

"In here...!" He called back, forsaking his crutch and the stuffed wolf temporarily to lift the grey kitty from the barrel. Alucard walked into the room, the night creature trailing happily along behind him like an oversized puppy. The blonde did seem to note the cat with a look of happy surprise, but as he looked around the room they were in, his face returned to expressionlessness, even dipping beyond that into sullenness.

"You're in this room?" Alucard asked, knowing full well it was a pointless question.

"Yes. I wanted to see... The room where it happened," Hector admitted, feeling more free to speak his true thoughts, his true motivations, now that he and Alucard were on positive terms more permanently.

Alucard closed his eyes. "The room where I killed my father?" He inquired, rewording Hector's phrase to make it more accurate. Mourning dripped from each word, so much so that Hector felt it necessary to, at long last, make it quite clear to his friend that he was not entirely alone in this regret.

"I understand if you don't like coming back to this spot. I could never bring myself to return to my childhood home. The memories alone would keep me away... Then add to that the screams...."

Alucard looked back up. "Screams? What do you mean...? Where was it you lived?"

"Rhodes. In a house made of stone. Catching it on fire was... Difficult, but I was desperate enough to find a way."

The cat began to get restless, so Hector put it down, free to rub his and Alucard's legs as it pleased. The vampire was beginning to piece together the point of this story.

"You... Burned your family alive?" He asked, the shock evident in his voice.

Hector hung his head. "I had to. They were going to keep killing my pets... There were times when I worried they would even kill me. They beat me hard enough." Hector began to tremble from the terrifying memories, so Alucard took a step and put his hand upon the man's shoulder to calm him. The human took a deep breath and his fear began to dissipate, but out of old habit, he still did not meet the eyes of his friend. "All I'm saying is that you were doing the same thing. You had to protect yourself... And the other two as well. Your friends. But it's hard... You may never get over it. I never did. But I can at least try to help... And if I can't help, at least I can understand. In some… Small way."

Before the man could truly register what was happening, he was swept up in Alucard's embrace. Hector couldn't remember the last time someone had hugged him. He returned the gesture, squeezing Alucard back like he knew they both needed. The cat wound, purring, around both of their ankles.

"I didn't know you had to endure such a life," Alucard muttered, steering the conversation away from his own tragedy.

"...It was a long time ago," Hector sighed. "I've had time to heal. But you..."

Alucard said nothing. He only held his companion even tighter. Hector pet the long, soft, blonde locks of the wounded vampire, unable to see just how close to tears he was. But Alucard knew, deep down, that these tears were a good thing. That they were necessary. With every near silent cry, he drew closer to acceptance. And the longer he spent in the forgemaster's steadfast yet tender embrace, the more his heart remembered what it felt like to truly love- and that he was no longer alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An ongoing thanks to all those who have lended me their love and support! You are all amazing and I appreciate every last one of you! This chapter is shorter and slows things down a little, I know. But now, finally, Alucard can learn that he isn't alone. ^^ And because he's learned that, these two can only grow closer and closer...! Stick around! I promise the next chapter will be worth the wait! \\(^0^)/


	11. The Power of Your Words

"Hector..."

The man stirred from his slumber as a gentle singsong voice drifted through the air and a soft hand caressed the side of his face. His blue eyes flickered open. He smiled and stretched as consciousness slowly returned to him in full.

"Good morning, Alucard..." Hector murmured in return, staring peacefully into the man's happy golden gaze. Weeks had passed since Hector's rescue, but the traveling companions never once felt the desire to sleep apart from each other. Perhaps they had gotten too fond of each other's embrace, or even dependent upon it, after all the time they each spent locked away from love and pleasant company.

Hector enjoyed his new wake up calls. They were far better than the tugs at his hair, the slaps to his face, and the harsh pulling of his chain that he had once become so used to. There were some that had attempted softer methods of stirring him from slumber, but Hector learned the darker intentions of those individuals soon enough and came to dread their actions as well. Thankfully, the gentle look Alucard bestowed upon him as his eyes squinted against the warm light of the morning always put those thoughts far from his mind. Alucard truly cared for him, and Hector knew this. He didn't know how he ever thought otherwise.

"You know... you could call me by my real name," Alucard mentioned, running his fingertips through the silver locks of the man who lay beside him.

"Real name...?" Hector asked sleepily, his sky blue eyes beginning to close again.

The blonde chuckled and rubbed at Hector's shoulder to keep him roused. "Yes. Alucard was a name given to me, to mean that I am the opposite of my father. Now that he is gone... I see no point in continuing to use it."

"What can I call you, then...?"

"Adrian. My name is Adrian."

"Adrian... Good morning, then, Adrian..." Hector mumbled, staring up with a smile at his companion, who looked so pleased to have the weight of that old name lifted from him, and by none other than the man he cared for and longed to protect.

"...I have to go out today," Adrian eventually mumbled to his companion, who groaned and grabbed onto his shirt with a hand still weakened from his lengthy rest.

"Must you...?"

Adrian chuckled and took Hector's outstretched hand. "I must. You're running out of food, and you're still in no state to hunt."

Hector gave a breathy laugh and rolled onto his back, looking up at the ceiling. " _I_ need food?" He asked. "Not we?"

"Yes," the vampire said with a nod. "I don't necessarily need it, but you do."

"Full of surprises..." Hector groaned as he sat up, stirring the pup that had been sleeping at his feet, finally brave enough to leave the forge now that his master was home for good.

Adrian reached over and stroked Cezar, too, savoring the warmth that radiated off of his companion before extracting himself from the bed to the sound of Hector's disappointment.

He chuckled. "Silly man... Just go back to sleep if you're going to miss me so severely. Then I can visit you in your dreams."

Hector sighed and shook his head. "I fear it isn't you I would see." That statement held enough truth, but another strong reason for the human's lack of desire to return to slumber was that it wouldn't be the same without Alucard- or, Adrian- next to him. Even with Cezar, he'd feel alone again. Then it would be even easier to imagine himself back in his lonely cell, chained to the cold metal slab, awaiting whatever torture was to befall him...

The forgemaster forced his head to clear by sitting up and extracting himself from the warm cocoon of blankets, Cezar in his arms. "You'll be back as soon as you've caught something?" He asked, moving to sit upon the end of the bed and watching Adrian don his coat and boots.

"Yes, yes," Adrian groaned playfully. "And then we shall cook and feast and talk and nap again, living like the kings we are."

The silver headed man smiled softly. "We _do_ live like kings here," he agreed, his happiness only growing as Cezar licked his hand in apparent agreement. He gasped as Adrian stooped over the bed, quicker than he realized, and bestowed a gentle kiss upon his forehead.

"I'll be back before you know it," the vampire breathed, a bit of life in his usually greyed cheeks. He then pivoted and briskly walked from the room. If Hector could've seen his face more clearly, he would've noted that Adrian looked just as shocked as Hector was himself.

  
All this time, and Hector hadn't really given much thought to the nature of their relationship. Primarily, he had assumed he was an indebted prisoner. He had accepted that role, he hadn't questioned it. But then Adrian seemed to treat him like a friend and an equal, so his mind switched and accepted that new truth.

Just now, though, with that kiss, with that moment of intimacy, Adrian had sent Hector's mind careening down a new and different path, one that he was uncertain if the vampire had ever intended. Were they meant to be closer than friends?

Hector would be lying to himself if he said that he hadn't thought about it. Adrian had saved him, after all. He had already won an affectionate place in the other man's heart. He was kind to him in a way Hector had hardly ever experienced in life. And the human would be a fool not to notice his chiseled yet slender frame and his endless waterfall of gorgeous blonde locks. The way Adrian had kissed him just then... It made Hector desire such tender moments and gentle touches for all of the foreseeable future. He'd never been kissed on the lips before, but there was a part of him that wanted to try it now.

The man sat up quickly, unwilling to dwell upon this series of thoughts any longer. He simply didn't know where his mind would wander if he allowed this to continue. Instead, the human focused on selecting a change of clothes and recalling the path to the nearest tub. However, a part of his mind now whispered to ask him if he was doing this simply for the benefit of the man whose lips he wanted to caress his skin again.

\---

It had been an idiotic decision, Adrian had decided, his wolf's paws treading swiftly and silently across the forest floor. How dare he take advantage of that man's vulnerability? Adrian knew he was the only man to ever show him kindness, Hector had all but told him as much. What if Hector thought he was adding terms and conditions onto that goodwill? He didn't want his companion to feel forced into anything. That was the last thing he wanted!

What did he want, then?

Nothing more than for Hector to choose to return his affection out of love, not fear.

Adrian was exerting himself, using this form to drag his kill back to the castle, but he didn't care. His mind was already there. He wondered how Hector would react to seeing him like this. Would he smile and croon at him as if he was that puppy, Cezar? Would he run his hands through all his fur while laughing? Would he throw bones for him to fetch and praise him mercilessly when he brought them back? If only he would, then they'd fall onto the ground together to wrestle where Adrian could reciprocate the shower of love with a gentle lick to his cheek and a wagging tail. It'd be perfect. They'd be so happy.

It was settled, then. Adrian would greet him in this form, not his dhampir one. The joyous decision put more bounce into the wolf's steps as he dragged the deer he caught over the threshold and into the castle.

\---

Whether or not the vampire knew or was willing to acknowledge it, Hector had decided he had recovered enough not to use his makeshift crutch anymore. The pain in his ankle was so minimal compared to what he had been feeling, and Alucard- Adrian, he corrected himself mentally, Adrian- had warned him he might have a bit of a limp forever due to the trauma he had already suffered, so where was there harm in learning early to accept this new style of walking and adapting to it? It wasn't like he walked long distances, either. He had yet to even venture outside, and he still didn't feel comfortable going up or down stairs without the assistance of his crutch, so he was still keeping himself very safe. He was certain there wouldn't be a single thing Adrian could successfully chide him for. Hector was more safe now than he had been in a very long time, and his entire body could feel it.

But that feeling dissipated almost instantly as he heard an unfamiliar sound within the castle. He knew too well the footfalls of all his beasts. The sound was too loud to be the fox, who was still missing, but too soft to be the night creature. Could they be human? Or vampire? Hector couldn't decide which he dreaded more. It couldn't be Adrian- if it was, he would've called out by now to keep from scaring him. So it had to be an intruder.

He backed away quietly, looking around for something, anything, that he could use as a weapon. God, how he missed his hammer! His eyes settled upon a particularly large glass flask for some sort of remedy. It was empty. He lifted it and smashed it against the table. It wasn't much, but it was better than being unarmed. Hector desperately didn't want to fight unarmed again.

There was a huff, and the steps quickened. They sounded quadrupedal. Perhaps it was a night creature or a lost animal. Maybe he could get out of this situation without exchanging any blows. But there was no point in idealizing the situation before he could see the source of the noises with his own eyes. He readied for attack.

Adrian heard the smashing glass and instantly sprang into action, fearing that his beloved human had gotten hurt. He tore into the room from which the sound had originated and was greeted with a frightened cry from the forgemaster, who was brandishing the flask in a manner hardly threatening. Adrian tried his best to match that, bowing his head and slowing to a halt. He knew for a fact that Hector wouldn't harm an animal.

He was correct. Hector put the broken flask to the side and got down on his level.

"Hello there... Are you lost? ...Maybe just exploring? I'm not going to hurt you," the man murmured in a low, soothing tone. He'd never reach out a hand to a wild animal- though he had been tempted before, he wasn't stupid- but he sat comfortably upon the floor, waiting for the wolf to choose its next course of action and fully expecting it to simply walk out the door.

Like a puppy, the creature padded up to him, panting happily. Hector was stunned, but welcomed it with a big smile and an open posture. The wolf nudged at his hand until he lifted it, at which point the beast insisted that Hector run his fingers through its beautiful white coat while the man exclaimed and laughed brightly, just as Adrian had wished.

They spent hours enjoying each other's company in this way. Adrian behaved as if he was the man's new puppy, and Hector couldn't have been happier. As the two wrestled onto the ground, the setting sun shining through a window behind them, Hector sighed. The wolf lapped at his face curiously.

"Adrian should have been here by now," he remarked aimlessly, stroking behind the pup's ear. "He'd love you, you know. I think wolves were his favorite when he was little. He had a stuffed animal that looked just like you, but dark grey." Hector hummed and closed his eyes.

"He reminds me of a wolf in a lot of ways. Powerful. Silent. Mysterious. But, deep down... He wants a pack. He can't be alone for very long. He wasn't meant for that." Hector slid his hand down to the ruff of the creature's neck and ran his hand back and forth through the fur. He opened his eyes to look into the wolf's with a knowing expression. A little smile pulled at the corners of his lips.

"But you have me for that now, Adrian. I can be your pack, or at least, a part of it. I know I can't replace your old one, wherever they are. But maybe, when you think of your friends, you can think of me as well."

Adrian was still for some time before letting out a sigh and turning back, Hector's hand remaining gently upon his neck.

"How long did you know?" He asked, the happy glimmer still in his eyes.

Hector chuckled and moved his thumb back and forth. "No wolf ever begs to be pet. Except, perhaps, by someone they care about. Someone they know," he added to correct himself. “That and the mark across your chest.”

"So... Practically the whole time," Adrian extrapolated with a soft laugh.

"More or less," Hector grinned.

"Yet you still played along..." The vampire hummed, lifting a hand to gently stroke Hector's long silver locks.

He let out his breath in a happy little sigh. "I appreciated what you were... Trying to do, at least."

"Well, that's good. I worried you'd be upset with me."

"Never," Hector assured, shaking his head slowly with an expression of pure trust and peaceful mirth. "But the licking... May have been just a touch excessive."

"Isn't that a doglike trait?" Adrian asked, a fang glinting as he offered a little half smile.

"It is," Hector assured, his fingers tangling deeper into Adrian's hair. "I just didn't know it was an Adrian trait."

"Generally, it isn't," the blonde assured. "But I suppose I could make a habit of it if it made you so happy."

Hector laughed, a bright merry sound that made his eyes squint up and made Adrian's heart bloom. "Don't be ridiculous...!" He gasped out, shaking his head.

"I wasn't trying to be," Adrian asserted. Though his smile remained, he seemed more serious now. "Maybe I wouldn't go so far as to lick you again, but... I'd like to make you happier. When you look at me like that... Like the very sun has been captured, sparkling, in your eyes... All I want is for that to last forever. It reminds me why I lasted so long on my own."

Hector was listening, eyes wide and heart hammering, to the vampire's speech. He couldn't believe what was happening. Was Adrian really saying... What Hector thought he was saying?

"Why... Is that...?" He asked softly, hesitantly, almost afraid of the answer.

Adrian sighed, closing his golden eyes tightly and mustering up all his courage to simply say it and face whatever consequence would ensue.

"I might not have known it at the time... But... I was holding out for you. I'm sure of it.

Hector... And I don't want you to hear this as something threatening or an expectation, but... I think I'm in love with y-"

Adrian's words were cut off by a soft, tender brush of lips against his own. He opened his eyes, stunned to find Hector's flushed face so close to his own. The proximity blurred his features, but from what Adrian could tell, the man seemed tense, like he was unsure that what he was doing was correct. Adrian was equally uncertain, but he did his best to provide what limited reassurance he could by kissing his beloved companion back. He moved his hand to Hector's waist, where he felt him relax into the touch. What they were doing was okay. It was mutually desired, accepted, perpetuated. It felt as if the world stilled around them.

When their lips finally parted, Adrian was still a bit stunned. He couldn't believe that Hector had kissed him. He couldn't believe that he felt the same. "I... I think I'm... In love with you..." He murmured, restarting and finishing his previous sentiment, unsure of what else to do.

The forgemaster smiled his same gentle, knowing smile, his ocean eyes drowning in his affection for the vampire before him. "I know," he said with a playful coldness, prompting a laugh from the other male before providing another kiss. His body curled closer to Adrian's. They enjoyed each other's closeness in that way until long after the sun had set.

"Adrian...?" Hector asked between kisses.

"Mm?"

"Did you ever find anything for dinner...?"


	12. To Keep You From the Sun

It was strange to Hector just how quickly he'd gotten used to the feeling of a hot, wet tongue, parting his lips, meeting his, exploring the inside of his previously unknown mouth. Equally odd was how quickly he'd come to learn Adrian's mouth as well- from the way his lips curved as he smiled through a tender kiss, to the best way to dodge his fangs as things became passionate. He'd only ever been nicked once by those dastardly fangs. Adrian had looked so apologetic as he gazed upon his companion, whose mouth was filling with the metallic tang of blood. But at the same time, he had appeared frightened. Frightened of what he had done, and what he could do as well. Hector had been swift to forgive, and they had since kissed like that again, but Adrian took it upon himself to treat the forgemaster more carefully from then on.

And the way they were kissing at that very moment, Hector felt undeniably adored. His lips tingled with Adrian's gentle kisses, and soon his cheek was alight in the same sweet sensation. Hector smiled broadly, wondering what on earth caused the two of them to take so long to reach this state.

The fact that no answer came readily to mind proved just how distant the man's past seemed to him in that very moment.

"Adrian..." He sighed, totally content, his arms lazily wrapped around the vampire's shoulders.

"My Hector..." The blonde responded in a purring tone, nuzzling into the humans neck in a manner quite possibly instinctual, but far from dangerous.

"Yours..." Hector confirmed before his words were cut off in a yelp as Adrian began to pepper his neck in kisses. "St-stop! I... You're tickling...! I can't...!" He gasped between breathless laughs, weakly batting the vampire away and tilting his head far back to escape him.

It was then that Adrian caught sight of something which he had never noticed before. Underneath the human's well sculpted jawline, there were two pale, symmetrical scars.

Adrian slowed his mercilessly loving assault to allow the human to breathe. At that point, he pressed one gentle kiss to the scar on Hector's left hand side.

He whispered to him, "You've never told me about this one."

The forgemaster's breaths steadied, but seemed heavier, more laden with the cares and sorrows of his life prior to the advent of his vampiric savior.

"She hung me," he answered simply. "From the collar."

Adrian sat up, his yellow eyes filled with concern. "She meant to kill you?"

"She meant for me to think she did. While she let me slowly die... Just to save me right before the end. The chain was just long enough... But the collar dug in..."

"It's okay..." The vampire murmured, wrapping his arm around the other male to steady him. "You don't need to talk about it. I don't mean to make you."

Hector sighed and nodded, grateful to be spared. He leaned into Adrian's chest before gently touching the scarred skin left bare by his low cut shirt.

"You've never told me about this one," he mentioned, copying Adrian's words in an attempt at lightheartedness. Adrian rubbed at Hector's shoulder, giving him a last bit of comfort before turning his mind over to his own tragedy.

"My father. When I tried to stop his war… The first time I tried... I was unprepared. I thought I would find someone heartbroken, depressed, and grieving, someone like me. I could never have prepared for his fury. His madness. I had heard of it, but as I had never been a witness to anything but the best of the man... I was struck down in an instant."

"I'm so sorry..." Hector murmured in a low bass tone, pressing a caring kiss to his collarbone. Adrian hummed, not quite ready to say anything more on the subject, or bring them to a different one.

"He did grieve, you know," Hector continued. "We all knew he did." Adrian looked up at him, confusion beginning to take the place of the hurt that dwelled in his expression. "It was his grief that fueled the war. He didn't know what to do with himself without your mother. So he reverted to the state he was in before he met her. But he couldn't go back to that, not all the way. She had turned him. Turned him human." Hector looked into the vampire's eyes and shook his head. "He was so hollow near the end. Everyone could sense it. That's why they took advantage of him. He was finally grieving as you grieved, Adrian... And he was hurt for it just as you were."

The vampire was taken aback by this. All he could mutter in response was an affirming "You would know..."

Hector smiled softly. "I would."

Adrian mirrored that smile and gently placed the human's hand above his heart. Hector noted how slow the beats were. It soothed him. He looked up into those kind, familiar, yellow eyes.

"You saved my life, Hector..." Adrian breathed. More feeling rested in those words than in any others he had ever uttered.

Hector turned his head to the side, rubbing at his cheek with his free hand. "Don't be silly. You're the one that saved mine."

"They don't have to be exclusive."

"No..." Hector agreed. He took a second, then lifted his eyes to gaze upon the face of his former Master's beautiful heir. "Adrian... Why... Did you save me? I've just... Always wondered."

Adrian paused to think it over, his lips parted slightly, seemingly in mid-thought. "Well, your night creature wanted me to," he answered simply, releasing Hector's hand and sitting back a bit more to regard him more fully.

"Yes, but... When you saw me there. What were you thinking…?"

The vampire exhaled slowly and audibly through his nose as he mulled the question around in his mind. "I didn't want to leave you," he began simply. "I thought it'd be... Such a missed opportunity. I came all that way... And when I saw you there, hurt and scared, I thought about how I could be the one to help you. I'd... Give you a home, hope to win your affections, your companionship, and maybe, I thought, maybe this place would stop feeling so overwhelmingly haunted. And I wouldn't be so alone."

Hector sat up, affronted. "So... It was about you?"

Adrian's eyes widened slightly. "Ah- N-no, that wasn't what I meant to say."

"You wanted to save me... Because you wanted someone to care for you…? Not out of care for me..." Hector breathed, the hurt dripping from each syllable.

"Hector, _no_ , that isn't true..."

The silver haired man barked out a cold laugh. "Then why did you say it...?" Adrian didn't answer right away, so Hector shook his head and continued. "There's no denying you did a good thing, a kind thing, and I'm grateful to you for it. But you didn't do it out of sympathy. Even pity. All you wanted from me... Was for me to be your pet."

Adrian's expression flooded with shock at that accusation. "No, Hector...!"

But he trailed off. The man was right, wasn't he? At least to some degree. In those early days, especially... How he'd spoiled Hector and treated his wounds, tending to his every need, expecting nothing but his gratitude and adoration in return… It was no different from rescuing a stray pup from the streets.

Hector scoffed. "This whole time. I should've known. You're just like her... Only, instead of a work hound, you wanted a lapdog." He spat the words angrily and got to his feet, wrapped in a silent storm.

Adrian stood as well. "Hector? Where are you going?" He called, hastily following him out of the room. "You know I didn't mean to say it like that... Like that's all you're good for...!"

"I'm going to clear my head!" The man insisted, making his way down the grand entry staircase. "Or do I need your permission to go outside, Master?"

The vampire sighed in exasperation at the cruel question and reached out a hand to stop his friend. He had aimed for Hector's shoulder. But his hand missed. Adrian tried to correct its course to grasp the back of the man's shirt. Instead, his fingers closed around metal.

Instantly, Adrian withdrew his hand from Hector's collar, but it was too late. Hector froze with a gasp and turned to look up at the man who he suddenly had a hard time seeing as anything other than a captor. Terror sparkled tragically in his ocean blue eyes. Once Hector had determined there was no immediate threat, that he wouldn't be hit again or grabbed as soon as he turned his back, he began running down the stairs like a frightened animal, instinctively fleeing with the sole thought echoing around his head that he desperately did not want to be captured again. Even in a cage this big. Even by a captor this kind.

At that point, Adrian didn't feel justified to chase him. Wouldn't that just terrify the poor man even further? And what would he do if he caught up to him? Grab him again? He couldn't win. Though it pained him, Adrian was wise enough to know that the best thing to do was to wait for Hector to cool off. Then he might return voluntarily.

And if he didn't...?

Adrian sat down upon the stairs, buried his head in his hands, and tried his very best not to think about that possibility.

\---

It was the first time Hector had been outside since returning with Adrian to the castle. In a lighter mood, the forgemaster would've mused on how much he missed it- the brush of grass against his exposed ankles, the dimming sun faintly warming his skin and the evening breeze cooling it. But he was too frustrated to dwell upon such happy matters.

How could he not have seen it sooner? All that time, carrying him around from place to place, keeping him constantly close, even giving him orders... He was a pet! He had never been anything more! But he was a pet that Adrian had claimed to love. That Adrian had claimed saved his life.

Just minutes ago, they had been sitting there, fully content, fully in love. Was that all just an act? Certainly not on Hector's part. He had been enraptured in the vampire's tender embrace, feeling his heart slowly thrum on and on and half a human’s pace. How could he have been so stupid? Adrian had just been keeping him happy, healthy, and docile in order to stave off his own pathetic loneliness.

Hector's walking slowed. Pathetic wasn't the right word. He could understand Adrian's feelings, he could understand them almost completely. What Hector wouldn't have given, years ago, to have someone in his life that wanted to be near him in a time when he had nobody. He, too, would've done anything to keep them happy and close. He, too, would claim that they saved his life. And doing those things wouldn't make that person his pet.

Instead, those things would make them the person dearest to his heart.

Hector stopped in the middle of the grassy terrain, holding one hand to his forehead. "Oh, what did I do to you...?" He murmured softly. "What did I say...?" The man thought back to his searing accusations, born out of fear more than hatred. He cringed. God, had he really compared Adrian to Carmilla? The sheer lunacy of that statement...! He could only hope that Adrian could forgive him for it.

"I'm going home," he declared softly, with a simple happiness behind the definitive statement. The silver headed man was about to turn and begin his walk back to the castle when a melodic string of simple words stopped him dead in his tracks.

"No, no, puppy... Why would you return there... When you left your sole purpose for living with me?"

Hector's breath caught in his throat. He was imagining it. Or it was another nightmare. It had to be.

But as he felt dagger sharp nails reach from behind him and trace down his jaw, he knew that this was very real.

He whipped around, ready to at least try to fight, but before he could even get a clear view of who he knew stood behind him, a searing pain erupted in his ribs along with a deafening crack. Hector collapsed to the ground, screaming.

His attacker was quick to pounce upon him, tearing the end of his sash and shoving it into his mouth to deaden the cries. She lifted the hammer high and shoved the spike of it deep into the soil right beside his head.

"Without your hammer... Without your magic… Why on earth would Alucard want a broken mess like you coming home to him...?" Carmilla smirked.


	13. What's Going to Be Left of the World If You're Not in It?

It didn't take much to stir Adrian from his reverie. Hector's scream was more than enough. His head lifted from his hands and whipped to face the direction of the sound. He was far, further away than a human ear would be able to hear. Adrian knew he couldn't run to him, it would take far too long, and Hector was obviously in immediate danger. He would have to use his magic. Flitting for such a distance could quite possibly exhaust him against any looming attacker that would seek to harm them both, but it was a risk he would have to take.

As he raced in the direction of the scream, the furthest thought from Adrian's mind was that Hector had fled from him. That he was angry at him. That they had fought. None of those things mattered anymore. He loved Hector with all of his heart, and he'd do anything to keep him safe. That was all.

Adrian arrived to a devastating scene. His beloved companion lay sprawled upon the ground, face down, with a woman kneeling beside him, pulling his arms behind his back while he tried his best to fight her off. His breaths sounded ragged, and his cries were heavily muffled, but still brimming with agony.

The woman could sense his presence, and she whipped around to face him. A vampire, Adrian instantly noted, and recognition followed instantly after.

Carmilla. His father's former ally. Hector's former captor.

The wicked woman must've gone through the same process of realization herself, for her instant response was to leap to her feet, dragging Hector up by his collar, and placing a dagger at his throat, instantly stopping Adrian in his tracks.

Carmilla giggled and tapped Hector with the dagger. His head was tilted far back, staring at the star speckled sky while helplessly exposing his throat for her to prod. He couldn't see what was going on. He didn't know why he had been pulled from the ground. His whole body ached, he could barely breathe, and an old defeatist voice in the back of his head cried out for death.

Then Carmilla's honeyed words dripped into his ear.

"Well, well... The new master of the house came to reclaim his pet."

Hector gasped. Adrian. Adrian had come for him! Hope bloomed in his heart, but the flower was struck down quickly by his own experience. Being here was danger. Adrian may be strong, strong enough to defeat Dracula, but Carmilla was crafty. She could kill or enslave them both. It was a fate Hector would do anything to spare Adrian from.

The man grunted from behind his gag and tried to struggle. His fractured ribs sent fire up and down his entire right side in protest, but he fought the pain, as well as the rising taste of blood in the back of his throat. He had to send a message. He had to let Adrian know that this wasn't worth it. He couldn't risk his life over him.

"Let him-" Adrian started to protest, but his words trailed off as stared across at the poor human. He was desperately shaking his head and pawing at the hands which held him, emitting the same muffled noise, repeatedly. Three syllables, with the emphasis on the first. Adrian. Adrian, and judging by the words his body communicated, no.

_Adrian, no. Adrian, don't._

Even in this state, Hector wanted to try to save him.

Carmilla must truly be a rival even to the power of his father if Hector feared she could vanquish him.

"Let him go," Adrian insisted anyway. Hector may believe that Adrian would lose any potential conflict, but that didn't mean Carmilla thought the same. Perhaps, with his words alone, he could give himself just the slightest edge.

Carmilla laughed, a truly ugly, emotionless sound. "Aw... The heir of our old Lord Dracula wants his puppy back." She thrust the blade under Hector's jaw, not enough to make him bleed, but enough to make him gasp and cease his struggling momentarily. "Can't you see why I can't do that...?"

"No. I can't." Adrian spat back, folding his hands behind his back and setting his face into a glare of barely constrained rage. His fingers twitched slightly.

The vampire smirked. "Why, you were mistreating him, of course."

Adrian was stunned into silence by that baffling claim, so Carmilla filled the emptiness with explanation. "He's a working animal. His purpose is to serve his betters, not to be coddled day and night by an overbearing child. Without a job to perform, he has no purpose. Quite like you, Alucard." The blonde's eyes widened just slightly. Carmilla's grin deepened. Her claws had set into his flesh now. She could tell.

"Tell me... Ever since you completed your task of killing Dracula... What have you done with your life?" Again, Adrian remained silent, just as Carmilla wished would happen. "Have you spent your days wandering your old home? Reading books without truly taking them in? Watching the sun rise and fall, marking the passage of another bleak and empty day?" She shook her head and laughed to herself, tracing the dagger’s edge gently over Hector's neck. He was trembling. "Puppies like the two of you need meaningful work to do. Otherwise your purpose... Your very reason to live... Slips away."

Carmilla suddenly threw Hector to the ground, stepped over him, and thrust out her hand to Adrian, who was thoroughly stunned by the move. Even though she was mere inches from him, Adrian found it hard to tear his eyes from the man he loved, lying on the ground like a corpse.

"Come with me, Alucard. You've visited my castle before. It isn't such a bad place. You could be happy there."

Adrian scoffed and took a step back. "Happy? As you destroy all life? As you perpetuate a misguided war until it turns into a meaningless one?"

Carmilla tilted her head. "Would you be happier experiencing your own death, dear Alucard?" She let her words sink in as she walked back toward Hector. She nudged him with her foot, turning him face up. "Would you be happier watching him cry and hearing his screams as your senses slowly, painfully, slip away?"

Adrian's fingers twitched again. He stared into Carmilla's eyes, his own brimming with hatred, before averting his eyes and bowing his head just slightly.

"What work would I be doing under you, exactly...?"

Carmilla beamed. "There you go. That's the spirit. I just knew you had it in you." She strode over to him and laid her hand upon his shoulder. "You, Alucard, would be my advisor and my nurse. None of my other lackeys are quite as intelligent as you. They do not know how to win a war, only how to fight in one. And they do not know how to keep pets alive, only how to harm them. You would be second only to me."

He lifted his eyes from Hector's bloody form and glowered. "Then would I be your pet as well? Bound in chains, as your slave?"

The woman hummed. "Oh, Alucard... Can you truly say you're free here?"

"You didn't answer me," Adrian spat.

Carmilla chuckled. "No. You wouldn't be. Your job would be to roam the castle, giving assistance where it is needed. His realm..." Here she nudged Hector again, who groaned loudly as her boot made contact with his wounded side. "It doesn't extend much further than the reach of his hammer and his slab. Besides... You wouldn't try to run from me. We're the same, aren't we? I don't need to tether my equal. Well- near equal. That hint of human blood in your veins may still pose a liability after all..."

The blonde scoffed and strode over to Hector's side. He gestured with his left hand. "So we can go, then, as soon as I tend to Hector. Perhaps a week or so, and then he'll be ready."

The woman rolled her eyes and tossed her hair. "A week? What nonsense. We could leave right now. Just carry him as we run."

"I can't do that. Look at him. He can hardly breathe. You've shattered his ribs, Carmilla. If I ‘carry him and run,’ as you suggest, he will undoubtedly suffocate. He'll be no good to you then, and neither will I."

"My, my... Such threats," Carmilla hummed, quite apparently unamused. "But I cannot afford to give him a full week. Get him into some semblance of a stable condition, then we travel. We stop only for the sunrise, or briefly to allow you to stabilize him again. Now get to work."

Adrian huffed, but did as he was told. It didn't matter. This was an argument he could afford to lose. After all, he would never join Carmilla. He only needed to buy a little more time.

The blonde gently cleared Hector's silver hair from his face and then pulled out his gag. Blood dripped from his mouth and the fabric when he did so. Adrian swore beneath his breath. This condition was far worse than he had been expecting.

"Adrian... Why...? Don't... Do it... Please...!" Hector wheezed, his punctured lung audibly clicking and fluttering.

He winced at the sound. "Shh, shh... Just breathe..." He prompted, the worry clearly dripping from his usually calm voice. He stroked at Hector's face and lovingly whispered, "Not much longer, now..."

Carmilla's ears perked up at the strange comment. She whipped around. "Not much longer? Alucard, if you're trying to put him out of his misery, I swear you will endure a punishment far worse than anything he's ever told you stories about!"

Adrian looked up from his love with eyes blazing from hatred. "It isn't his life I'm about to end," he spat. The vampire thrust his right hand out to the side and caught the sword which flew into it, having travelled all the way from the castle for this, the final conflict. He crouched and leapt into the fight.

The woman was caught off guard only by the first attack. She tried to duck out of the way, but not soon enough. Her shoulder was pierced by the mighty blade, and she let out a furious growl. She then drew her dagger and used it to parry Adrian's flurry of attacks, pushing him back with each strike he made.

Adrian hissed. Her strength really was formidable. No one should be able to parry him with such ease while holding a dagger so small. He sprang backward, then used his magic and disappeared in an attempt to surprise Carmilla.

She knew what Adrian was attempting, but not how to predict where he was going to land. Due to sheer luck, she ducked down at just the right moment and avoided having the sword shoved into the back of her skull. When she arose to her full height, she had taken Hector's hammer in her dominant hand, allowing herself to finally go on the offensive. She did so immediately.

If Adrian was worried before that he was no match for this woman, now he was terrified. Each attack ended in him being parried and forced to dodge a too-swift swinging of the hammer. Adrian was panting, exhausted. He had one final chance. If he could fly upward to gain the higher ground, just for an instant, he could plunge his sword through the top of her skull and, in so doing, pierce her heart.

It was risky. It was the last of his magic.

But it was all he had, and he was willing to give everything for just one last shot at saving Hector.

He flicked his eyes over to the man, and was met instantly with the sight of large, blue pools staring back at him, watching his every move so intently. The heir of Lord Dracula knew from that simple look that he simply could not let him down. Not for the world.

Adrian's eyes glowed red and his body disappeared again. Carmilla looked around, unamused, twirling the hammer by her side. She heard a roar from above her, a cry of fury and desperation, and looked up to see Adrian's sword hurtling toward her face. She clicked her tongue.

The sword buried itself deep into the soil. Adrian's eyes stared wide, disbelieving.

She had turned the tables on him. She had taken his last chance at survival and wrenched it away from him.

The center of his back was on fire, and it spread to the front of his chest. Carmilla had appeared behind him and slightly above, just as he had tried to do to her, and plunged her dagger deep into his back, piercing his heart.

Adrian's body hit the ground with a thud. It knocked the air from him, air he knew he wouldn't get back. Trembling, he opened his eyes to see Hector a few feet away, screaming. His brow furrowed. He could not hear him. All that was in his ears was a low ringing that was muffling the whole world. Even Hector was growing blurry around the edges...

'I love you...' He mouthed subtly, before losing his vision altogether and, shortly afterward, his life.

"Adrian...? Adrian! Adrian!!" Hector cried, crawling his way toward him, ignoring the searing pains that were sent up and down his side in protest. He called that precious name over and over, stroking his cooling face, staring through his tears into his lifeless eyes.

But the bearer of that name was no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another huge thank you to all of my supporters. My readers, likers, bookmarkers, and commentators. I appreciate you all so much.
> 
> ...
> 
> I'm so sorry. Just know it isn't over yet.


	14. Fill My Lungs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for this chapter in particular! Please don't read if you haven't first read all the new warnings...! It's for your own good. ;-;

_Hector didn't want to imagine the pain that would greet him upon standing up. Even pinned as he was, lying down, forced immobile, he felt as if he was being slowly bisected. He couldn't bear the thought of having to stand through that agony._

_His sobs had long since been silenced by a rough hand pressing upon his mouth. A lump was building in his throat, big enough to threaten his breathing. Crying had made his nose get stuffed up as well. Each breath had to be deeper than the last, or else he'd suffocate._

_But what was so bad about that? If he suffocated on his own misery, then he wouldn't have to take this pain and humiliation anymore._

_When they burst into his cell, one man had grabbed his arms; the other, his legs. They lifted him, screaming and struggling, onto the slab. Then the other two stripped him entirely naked while he howled and pleaded for mercy, knowing all to well what was bound to happen next. They held fast to his kicking legs while they touched him, and held even tighter as the leader forced himself inside._

_Hector didn't think he had ever made a louder cry in his entire life. This was so far from the picture he had long espoused of the night when he would lose his purity._

_It **burned.**  Each careless thrust felt like it was going to rip him apart. The forgemaster knew his body was being torn to shreds by the cruel friction. He could feel the blood trickling down his rear, onto the stone beneath him. Still, he tried to beg and struggle, until the other men tired of his voice and took it from him._

_The men had rotated once. As the first man, the leader, finished inside of him, Hector would've vomited if he had only the strength. It felt disgusting. **He** felt disgusting. How the man had held fast to his collar and panted so heavily into his ear... Never more had Hector willed himself to die._

_The second man had stroked his face and called him beautiful before slamming into him and making him scream. It only made everything worse. He felt less than a pet. He felt like a toy. Something to be used carelessly for fun and entertainment until it breaks, at which point, it can be thrown away._

_Hector moaned despairingly into the hand pressed over his lips. He wanted to break. He wanted them to throw him away. Then maybe the pain would stop._

_The door to the cell creaked open. "What is going on in here?" A sultry, guarded voice inquired._

_The leader, who had been holding Hector's mouth, released him to stand at attention before his mistress. The other three froze where they were. Even though he knew of Carmilla's cruelty, Hector couldn't help but be filled with hope. This was the one and only person who could make them stop._

_"Please," he begged, staring up at her through an ocean of tears. "I can't... T-take it... Anymore...!" His words trailed off into pitiful sobs. The leader of the band of vampire soldiers tried to stammer out some explanation, but one cold look from Carmilla silenced him._

_She approached the shivering, whimpering wreck that was left of Hector and gently stroked his face. It only made him cry harder. Her fingers trailed down to his lips and covered them, stifling the noise for a few seconds before releasing him, allowing him to voice his pain again._

_"Can you hear the difference?" She asked, covering the man's mouth once more, rendering him nearly silent. "When I hear his screams echoing through the wall, I know he is being harmed. But when I hear them disappear... It makes me believe he has been killed. Wouldn't that be quite a shame?" Her ice blue eyes trailed lazily from one vampire to the next. "I'd say it would be one worthy of the highest possible punishment."_

_Carmilla released her captive once more to approach the leader. "Am I making myself quite clear? I need to hear him scream. You may make him as unhappy as you wish, as long as he remains alive."_

\---

Hector was sobbing into Adrian's chest. Despair radiated from him. The sight of his broken body curled up next to the lifeless form of his lover would move anyone to tears through the sheer power of his misery.

It was of no importance to Carmilla. The more useful puppy of the two may have been unhappy, but he was still alive.

"Be quiet," the vampire woman hissed, tiring of the pathetic display before her. She grabbed the man by the crooks of his inner elbows and pulled him back from the body. Hector tried to struggle, but it was useless. She grabbed the strip of fabric that had been used as a gag for him and bound his wrists behind his back within moments. Carmilla then seized her pet by the collar and dragged him to his feet.

"How I miss your leash, my pet," she mused as she forced him to walk in front of her. "It made everything so much easier."

Hector strained to look over his shoulder. He needed to see Adrian. He needed to be with him.

Maybe there was a chance. He could still wake up! Maybe she had missed his heart just slightly, and was just playing dead to gain the upper hand!

But he didn't move in the slightest, and the longer Hector looked, the more the last flickering lights of his optimism faded.

Everything was worse, now that he had known Adrian. Everything was so much worse. When he had only known cruelty, what was a little more of it? He had told himself that he would live and die miserable. And, under Carmilla, that horrible prophecy had come true.

But now he had known kindness. He had been rescued from that horrible fate. He knew how good his life could be.

He couldn't bear to go back. He would rather...

Hector allowed his knees to give way. Carmilla stopped to glare down at him and tug at his collar cruelly.

"Kill me," he insisted before she could even ask why he had stopped. "Please, please kill me. You're right, I've been ruined. I can't go back there. Don't make me. Kill me."

She scoffed and pulled at the forgemaster's collar until he was forced to his feet again. "I don't recall ever teaching you to beg, puppy. I don't like that you've picked it up. You're coming with me. You haven't got a choice. Now move."

Hector sobbed silently as he was pushed forward. His legs felt numb and useless. Even the thought of another month-long trek to Styria had him aching...! He tried to look back at Adrian one more time, but he couldn't quite turn back that far.

A hiss then erupted from behind them both, prompting Hector to try even harder to turn around. Carmilla forced his head straight. "It's nothing but Alucard's body returning to ash. I had wondered if a dhampir child would do that, or just rot away like you humans would. Now we know, don't we?"

Hector gasped and then bowed his head, fighting back tears and the agonized screams he longed to let loose to the world. But even without holding those emotions back, he was all out of energy for screaming and for struggling. He was Carmilla's pet again, now. And there would never again be anyone worthy enough to rescue him.

The hissing sound turned to an outright roaring of what Hector could only assume was flames. He trudged onward miserably, but was stopped when he reached the end of Carmilla's reach. Then the human dared to look behind himself, if for no other reason than to see why Carmilla had stopped.

She looked stunned, utterly frozen. Hector had only ever seen a look like that upon her face when Castlevania had disappeared right before their eyes. Outright confusion, with just a touch of fear. Less wounded, Hector would have smirked at that state of hers. He didn't get to see it enough. But now, now he was terrified with her. If she could destroy Adrian as if he were nothing but a bug to be crushed, what could possibly render her so terrified? And what would become of him once it finished with her?

Hector looked beyond that which was in his immediate field of vision and gasped to see a pillar of fire rising where Adrian's body once lay. He choked back tears. So had Carmilla just stopped to taunt him? To force him to look at the pyre that had become of the only kind person left in this miserable world?

But that couldn't be. Her fear was too genuine. Hector looked closer, and fell backward from shock as a figure burst forth from the flames and lunged at them both. Carmilla cried out as she was tackled to the ground by a grey-skinned, blonde haired man who, once he had her pinned, immediately turned his golden eyes to the love of his life.

Hector couldn't believe his eyes. It was Adrian. It was Adrian!

Carmilla, taken off guard but far from defeated, struck Adrian with her knee, first in the stomach, then in the groin. Hector winced, but Adrian reacted dispassionately to both assaults. He flicked his now clawed fingers to summon his sword, and it flew to his side faster than ever before. He sliced down at Carmilla mercilessly, forcing her to jump immediately out of the way. She lunged for Hector's hammer. It had defended her well enough last time.

"This is impossible!" She hissed. "I pierced your heart! You melted away! You should be no more!" A well timed slice from Adrian's blade silenced her protests with an infuriated cry of agony as her inner arm took a deep slash.

"That is true," Adrian remarked, not even breaking a sweat as he flicked his blade about with no sign of relenting, forcing Carmilla to use the hammer only to block each blow and giving her no time to even attempt an attack of her own. "The man I was is no more. Only the vampire remains." With an impressive flip, likely aided by magic, Adrian landed a deep slice across Carmilla's back. She howled and tried to strike back, but he sidestepped it with the utmost ease.

"How?!" She cried, sweat dripping from her usually pristine brow.

"Magics I must admit I don't fully understand myself," Adrian shrugged, calmly walking forward with each strike of his sword. "By killing me then, you only succeeded in ridding me of my humanity. It is likely what my father tried to do to me as his war began."

Carmilla huffed and parried his sword with a surprising successfulness. "If you are no longer human, why are you so set upon defending one?" She inquired, lashing out with the hammer. The blow landed, forcing Adrian back. The woman smirked. "Now you should have no qualms about joining me! You're one of us now!"

Adrian huffed. "You don't understand me." As Carmilla lunged again, he leapt forward and buried his sword into her side, tearing through the flesh to free the blade once more. She staggered back. "You rid me of my weaknesses. Not of my feeling. Kindness and mercy have never been traits exclusive to humans. And cruelty is not a trait applicable to all vampires."

The newly created vampire lunged toward Carmilla once more, and she was only barely able to defend. How could this be happening? She should be stronger than this! Better than this! As of right now, there was no way for her to win this fight. She would lose. All her work would be for naught! Her conniving, her scheming, her armies...

It was then that a thought occurred to her. It might just work. She would have to sacrifice her biggest asset. But her life mattered more.

Using her magic, she instantly disappeared only to reappear over Hector. She turned the hammer over so that she was pointing the spiked part toward his skull and lifted the weapon high.

"Don't," a low grumble of a voice whispered directly into her ear. A great pain erupted in her chest. All she could see before her was red. Blood...? No. The deep red was interrupted by white and black.

They were Adrian's eyes, piercing her rotten soul as his blade skewered her empty heart. The world became bathed in a similar red as Adrian's hatred turned even the moon into a hateful shade of crimson.

Carmilla grasped at the sword's hilt, at Adrian's hands and arms, even though she knew it was far too late to stop her staking. He had been quicker than even her.

Why? Why did it hurt so much? The weapon wasn't wooden. This shouldn't be the end.  
But her vision, filled with scarlet rage, was interrupted by a flash of blue as soon as her hand touched the blade itself. Then she knew the reason for her inability to maintain steady breath. The blade had been blessed. The flickering of the blue flame against her fingers and her chest marked her final comeuppance, and she knew it.

Adrian drove the sword in deeper and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "How dare you think that he is my lone remaining weakness?" He hissed. "I told you I have none. _He_ is my strength. My only regret in this moment is that he was unable to finish you off himself. God knows he deserved to."

With one final grunt, Adrian pulled the blade out and let her body crumple to the ground, where it began to melt away, just as his father's had. He dropped his sword and walked over to Hector. The man was just barely clinging to consciousness now. His breaths were sharp but still far too shallow. Adrian sighed and placed a gentle kiss upon his head.

"I'm sorry... I ran from you..." Hector croaked, the tang of blood filling his mouth with every difficult word. "It's my fault... You..."

Adrian shook his head, his gaze softening back to a gentle yellow hue. The moon returned to white as well. "Shh..." He said with a gentle smile, untying Hector's hands and carefully turning him over. "Don't waste your breaths on an unnecessary apology like that one, forgemaster."

Hector would've laughed, but it came out more like a stuttering groan. Adrian gently slid a hand under his back and another under his knees. The human shook his head, fearing it would hurt, but no pain came. He could even feel the old pain ebbing away, and his breaths steadying. A little smile spread across his face.

"You...!"

Adrian shushed his companion again. "I didn't heal you. My magic still can't do that. I'm only numbing the pain. Please don't exert yourself... You've been through so much."

Hector nodded and lifted his hand to hold tight to Adrian's shirt. He could feel no heartbeat beneath. He looked up at Adrian, concerned.

The vampire noticed this, and exhaled sadly. "I know. It feels different for me, too. But... I will have plenty of time to become used to it. As for right now... Let's go back home."


	15. Flower Through Disarray

"Agh!"

"Shh, shh... I know it hurts... Please, hold on..."

"I... Can't breathe...!"

Adrian pulled his hands away and gave his companion a moment of relief from his treatment after hearing that very serious claim. "You can. Just focus on it. In and out." The vampire demonstrated the correct speed of each inhale and exhale and gently urged the human to follow suit. Hector's chest still rattled and wheezed with each breath, but at least he was getting some air. The blonde returned his warm, wet cloth to the bruises on Hector's side and the cuts on his face. The human cried out again, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I... I'm not going to make it, am I...?" He inquired weakly, some more blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"What on Earth makes you say that...?" Adrian asked, concerned. He gently cleared some stray silver locks from the man's forehead and wiped away the blood.

Hector tried to laugh, but it quickly devolved into agonizing coughing. He groaned. "Heh... If there was something you could do for me... You would've done it already, Adrian. I know you..."

The vampire was silent, staring down at his pale grey hand and the blood that stained it. A newfound but primal hunger gnawed at his stomach, whispering for him to drink, even though the poor human would surely not survive. Even without Adrian sinking his fangs into Hector, ridding him of even more crucial but delicious blood, his chances were slim.

The forgemaster had been entirely correct in his assessment. There was nothing Adrian could do for a punctured lung. Nothing at all. All of his father's studies, which he knew front to back, as well as his mother's compilations, they were all useless. He was certain there was nothing in the Belmont hold that would contain a spell to foster life instead of death, and even if there was, it would take far too much time for him to translate it- Time Hector didn't have.

Hector's voice interrupted his heavy thoughts, but they were not alleviated by his words.

"Adrian... I am scared to die." The man admitted in almost a whisper.

"You're not going to-" The vampire tried to reassure, but Hector interrupted him by coughing.

"I was always scared of it." He continued breathily. "Even under your father. Even as I... Brought death to so many. I didn't think it would come to me. I thought I'd be spared. I... Was naïve. But now..." He groaned and gasped for another rattling breath. "I know... No one is spared for very long."

Adrian took Hector's hand and kissed it firmly, fighting back tears of his own. "You'll be spared for longer. I promise. I'll find something. It isn't too late for you yet."

Hector shook his head. A tear finally spilled over. "Please don't lie to me..." He breathed.  
Those simple words rocked Adrian to his core. Could he really lose the man he loved so much, even after they had both come so far? The worst had passed! Now was the time to recover and settle into a life together that would never come under threat! Had Carmilla really succeeded in taking that away from them, even though she had failed in her every other endeavor?

The vampire turned to his love and gently cupped his face in his hands. Hector relaxed into the touch, enjoying it thoroughly, as if it might be their last. Adrian murmured a quick spell, and the forgemaster felt the pain ebb away once more. His lungs still make utterly hideous noises with each inhale, but Hector couldn't feel it. It was now nothing but an embarrassment, not an agony. Hector tried to sit up, but Adrian stopped him immediately with a gentle hand upon his collar bone.

"I've taken the pain away so you can rest while I search for any possible cures. Not so you can make your condition worse by roaming about the castle. Please lie back down..."

Hector looked disheartened, but he nodded in understanding and rested his head back against their pillows. Adrian stroked his hair adoringly and brushed his cold lips to Hector's overly-warm ones before exiting their bedroom, en route to the Belmont hold. It was their very last chance.

\---

Adrian struggled to read the books through his tears. He had accumulated stacks of possible leads and left the other fruitless attempts strewn about the library, useless. But so far, he had found nothing, and he was beginning to lose hope.

A tear trickled down his cheek and left a blurred sphere on the page. He couldn't lose him. Not like this. There had to be some accursed Belmont who had once fixed someone who was hurt as Hector was, or at least knew of someone who did and recorded their methods. There had to be!

But the words on every page just lost more and more of their meaning the longed Adrian spent in this wretched pit. He threw the book down and sobbed into his hand. Was there really nothing to be done? Nothing except to watch his beloved fade away and leave him forever to grow old and lonely and mad? The tears flowed harder. Being left alone without Trevor and Sypha had rendered him wounded, but not beyond all hope.

Losing Hector would destroy him. He would never recover.

Perhaps the only option here was to kill Hector quickly and spare him from his pain, and then to stake himself so he would never have to live without the precious human. It could be simple. He would take his very first and very last sips of blood from the human. He would faint, and then it would be painless as he staked him. He would sharpen the same weapon, then end himself. It was a simple plan. Simple.

But its simplicity did not slow Adrian's tears. It only made them flow with a renewed ferocity.

It was then, as he imagined sinking his fangs into the throat of his precious companion, that a new idea struck him. It was utterly mad, and there was a chance that Hector would refuse to go along with it. However, if the man was truly as afraid of death as he claimed, Adrian assumed that, in the face of being forced to confront his fear, Hector would comply.

Adrian pulled on his gloves and drew the hood of an abandoned cloak over his head to shield himself from the sun. The heat it gave off was now agonizing to him, and the fact that his face was still warm and flushed from crying did not make him feel any more comfortable as he ventured into the odious light.

But there, just outside the castle's entrance, Adrian saw two very familiar faces- one human and one night creature.

"What are you two doing out here?" The vampire immediately inquired. "I thought I told you to stay in bed...!"

Hector laughed softly and ruffled the night creature's fur. "What's the point of that? I'm dying regardless. I'd rather die out here in the sunlight than cooped up indoors."

"Please stop saying that you're dying," Adrian requested in a tone much more timid than his usual. The forgemaster took immediate notice.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize... Have you been crying...?"

Adrian did not respond except to relocate into a more shady area.

"I'm so sorry... This has all been my fault. I know it's going to hurt you when I... But there's nothing to be done about it now. I just... Have to spend my remaining time coming to peace with that."

"You aren't running out of time. You aren't going anywhere."

Hector sighed. "There's no point in denying it, Adrian. It'll just make everything worse in the long run."

"No... I truly mean that. I'm not denying anything. Hector..." The vampire looked up at his companion. "I think I have a cure."

\---

"Now, Hector, are you really sure you're okay with this...?"

The man huffed out a nervous laugh. "It's either this or death, and the former is... Quite preferable. Though, I must admit, I will miss the sun."

"You'd miss it a lot more if you were dead," Adrian teased.

Hector barked out a shocked laugh and shoved the vampire playfully. "Come on...!"

Adrian laughed with him before settling into a pleased hum. "Sun's almost down," he remarked. The blonde turned to look at his companion. "Are you ready?"

He sighed deeply. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Then here we go."

With a hand that Adrian was barely able to keep from trembling, he cleared Hector's tumbling silver locks from the side of his neck. Wincing as he did so, the vampire sunk his fangs into his own tongue, letting his blood rise in his mouth before piercing the skin of Hector's neck before either one of them could even think to balk at the situation.

Hector cried out as the fangs sunk in. They only pierced for a second, though, before Adrian withdrew them and began pushing his own blood toward the wound, letting it leak into Hector's bloodstream. The forgemaster clutched to the vampire tightly, his blood burning in his veins as his body began to metamorphose. 

He felt it in his nails first, as they grew longer than he'd ever allowed them. Then in his teeth, which pierced his lips and tongue as they tried to settle within his mouth. And as the last bit of pink left the sky, so too did it fade from the man's cheeks. 

Hector closed his eyes and tried to follow Adrian's instructions to the best of his ability. He had to focus on his wounds. Imagine them slipping away. Imagine them healing within the span of a single thought. He felt the pain abating, and joy surged within his heart. But as Adrian pulled away, he felt a new fear and a new discomfort. Heat. Heat as if the sun was bearing down upon them both.

How long had they taken to do this? Could it possibly be morning already? Hector was so warm, as if he was being bathed in inescapable sun. He hugged Adrian tighter.

"Adrian..." He squeaked. "Is it... Sunrise? Are we going to burn?"

He felt his companion chuckle and then lift his head. "No, Hector. Open your eyes. Look," the blonde instructed, and reluctantly, Hector did as was asked of him. He squinted upward to see the silver light of the moon bathing them both. 

Hector lifted his hand to feel the warmth of it upon his palm, which appeared far more greyed than he was used to. But he didn't mind. Against Adrian's pale grey cheek and awash in the beautiful moonlight, he found the change to be a beautiful one.

"It's so warm...!" He remarked joyously, tears welling in his eyes and a huge smile forming on his lips. He threw his arms around his love, his head settling into the crook of his neck. There, he still heard no heartbeat. Instead, he heard a low, magical hum, one he never could have noticed before. It was the sound of Adrian's life force- a power which now coursed through Hector as well.

To Hector, there could be no sweeter sound.


	16. Back from Things Divine

Hector was meandering the hallways, a book in his arms and the night creature at his heels, following him like a puppy. It had been months since the night Hector was turned and, in all honesty, there were times that the pair still had difficulty coming to terms with the changes. The main issue for Adrian was remembering not to set foot in the daylight without extensive protection. Hector dealt with the same, atop a whole score of new issues. The man often had trouble remembering the extent of his new strength. He had put a sizable dent in his slab when he swung his hammer to reanimate a poor kitten he had found while out on a midnight stroll with Adrian, and once broke a bookshelf while merely trying to catch himself after tripping. His fangs continually sat uncomfortably in his mouth, occasionally stabbing into his lips, cheeks, or tongue. Then, atop all of that, there was the lingering concern over his newfound immortality.

"What if I don't want to exist in this world after a while?" He had once asked of Adrian. "Do you think it is possible we will tire of it? Go mad, as Lord Dracula did...?"

"I don't think so," Adrian had answered. "My father, when he was mad, did not have anyone by his side to calm him. To pull him back from the brink. You, my love, will be lucky enough to have just that. As will I."

"What if the madness sets in simultaneously?"

Adrian had smiled faintly. "Then at least we will still be together."

The possibility of an eternal ever after with Adrian had soothed the man for, at least, the foreseeable future. All his life, he had been forced to look after himself in every regard. Perhaps the biggest change the vampirism brought was the newfound assurance that he did not have to be alone any longer.

Just to the left of the grand entrance, Hector spotted him, and smiled at him from across the grandiose room.

"You have that look in your eyes," Adrian purred, tilting his head and beginning to walk over. "What are you thinking about, my rarity, my vampire forgemaster...?"

"You, mainly," Hector retorted, continuing his stroll to meet him halfway. His gait was more assured these days, now that he had used his vampire magics to heal his ankle.

Adrian cocked his head. "Mainly? So what else is on your mind...?"

Hector closed the gap between them, reaching his hand out to give the night creature a well deserved pat. "Us," he answered sweetly, feasting his eyes upon Adrian's smiling, laughing face before taking initiative and kissing him. The blonde hummed delightedly into the kiss and pressed his hand to Hector's chest to feel the soothing magical thrum beneath. Hector hummed back in a playful tone, pulling back from him only to turn his attentions to the neck of his beloved. He was not quite brave enough to use his teeth on his beloved, but he had no problem with using his lips to pull soft gasps and chuckles from the vampire who turned him.

Both were too enraptured with each other to respond immediately to the opening of the castle doors. Instead of the noise of the intrusion, it was the loud snapping sound and the collapse of Hector to the ground that tore the lovers' attention toward their unexpected guests.

Hector's side was on fire, quite literally. Remnants of blue flame still licked at his shirt where the blessed weapon had torn through, leaving a gaping wound in the soft flesh of his midsection. He stayed down, clutching the wound and pretending to be beaten already. It was a technique he had learned from his time with Carmilla, one that he had hoped he would never have to use again.

The night creature, on the other hand, leapt immediately into action to defend its creator, only to end up struck down by the same weapon and singed by magical flames of an origin it could not pinpoint. The attackers readied once more before Adrian called out to them.

"Stop this at once!" The assailants froze temporarily at the order. Adrian ran his fingertips down the wounds of the night creature as he strode purposefully toward them. He glowered at the taller of the two, looking him up and down. "You were away for months, Belmont. I had hoped the Speaker would have beaten some manners into you by now." He declared in a condemning tone.

"Manners? What fucking sort of manners am I to have toward a vampire who was turning you, or toward his pet monster? I'm trying to save your life, or what's left of it." The voice of the man he was speaking to sounded tense, still ready to finished the battle he had waged.

"I don't need saving." Adrian spat. "And though I have changed, I am still very much alive. That vampire's name is Hector and, until very recently, he was just as human as you and all those people you fight to protect. He is my closest companion. I was the one who turned him, not the other way around, and I only did it to save his life after he suffered a fatal injury. What you witnessed then was nothing but a kiss, and I'd expect even a virgin such as yourself to know that."

"Not even so much as a hello..." The hunter grumbled softly before raising his voice once more. "Alright, listen, if you-"

Adrian continued over the top of him. "You barge into my home unannounced after so long, assault my guest, and attempt to kill a creature dear to us both- I demand an apology."  
The tall, scarred, dark haired man folded his arms over his chest, seemingly ready to refuse, but a small blonde woman nudged him with her elbow, firmly urging him to heed Adrian's words.

"Sorry," he muttered, though it was apparent that he did not mean it, nor did he fully understand what he was apologizing for.

"Not to me. To him."

The Belmont scoffed. "What? The useless shit still lying on the floor, pretending to be dead?"

"Now," Adrian insisted, his eyes flaring with the insult.

"Trevor, come on. Grow up. It was a misunderstanding," the woman continued. She turned her eyes to Adrian. "One that I will absolutely be needing an explanation for...!"

Adrian's firm expression softened just a touch toward the magician. "Of course."

Trevor strolled to Hector's side and nudged him with his boot. "Oi. Harold, or whatever the name is. Sorry for the flesh wound, now stop acting like a little bitch and tell us what the fuck is going on here."

Slowly, Hector shifted to peer over his shoulder, first at the man who had struck him- still holding the devious metal whip in his hand, he noted- then to the kind looking woman, and finally to Adrian. The heir of Dracula seemed miffed, but otherwise at ease. Seeing little reason to remain fearful, Hector struggled into a seated position, healing his burned side as he did.

"I once was a general under Lord Dracula..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a little short, I know... -.-" But it was my finals week, so I barely had time to write. Consider this a part one to the series finale, which will likely be next week! I will update this here chapter with the grand conclusion to this tale.  
> As for now...  
> The gang is back together! Of course Trevor would attack a random vampire, but he did the same with Alucard and now they are friends! ^^  
> I want to thank everyone again, so sincerely, for all of your support. You are all such lovely people. I'm excited to finish this story by your side (but in a bittersweet way, of course). See you next week...! :.)


End file.
